腰 (yāo) — waist, lower back; middle part (of an object)

Definition

Body part for the waist and lower back (e.g. 腰疼). It also means the 'middle' of a long object like a mountain (山腰) or pants (裤腰) — distinct from 中/中间, which describe a center point or position.

noun

waistlower backmiddle part (of an object)

Measure word · 条

Easily confused

要yàolook-aliketo want, to need
邀yāosound-aliketo invite

Examples

腰。
Tā zuì jìn yāo téng dé lì hài.
His lower back has been hurting badly recently.
。
Wǒ men pá dào shān yāo xiū xi le yí huì r.
We climbed to the mountainside and rested for a while.
腰，。
Zhè tiáo kù zi yāo tài kuān le, wǒ bù xǐ huan.
The waist of these pants is too wide; I don't like them.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 5 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Body Parts 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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