腱子 (jiàn zi) — tendon (as a cut of meat, especially beef or pork)

Definition

腱子 refers to the tendon itself, but it is rarely used alone — it almost always means 'tendon' as a cut of meat (especially beef or pork) in cooking contexts. Think 牛腱子 / 卤腱子, not the anatomical term 肌腱.

noun
tendon (as a cut of meat, especially beef or pork)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 腱子。
    Zhè dào cài yòng de shì niú jiàn zi.
    This dish uses beef tendon.
  • 腱子。
    Wǒ mā ma zuò de lǔ jiàn zi hěn hǎo chī.
    My mom's marinated tendon is delicious.
  • 腱子。
    Zài huǒ guō lǐ zhǔ jiàn zi yào zhǔ hěn jiǔ.
    Cooking tendon in hotpot takes a long time.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

腱jiàntendon
子zǐ

腱 gives the idea of tendon, and 子 completes the familiar word for the tendon cut.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat; flesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
建
建jiàn腱jiàn
Same sound today

In 腱, the left part 肉 points to flesh or body tissue, while 建 gives the character its sound.

Open 腱 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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