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阴囊 (yīn náng) — scrotum

Definition

noun
scrotum
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 阴囊，。
    Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de yīn náng, méi yǒu fā xiàn yì cháng.
    The doctor examined his scrotum and found nothing abnormal.
  • 阴囊。
    yīn náng Shì nán xìng shēng zhí xì tǒng de zhòng yào zǔ chéng bù fen.
    The scrotum is an important part of the male reproductive system.
  • 阴囊，。
    Tā gǎn jué yīn náng yǒu xiē téng tòng, jiù qù le mì niào kē.
    He felt some pain in his scrotum, so he went to urology.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

阴yīnyin
囊nángbag

“阴” refers to the private or yin region and “囊” means a bag, together naming the scrotal sac.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 陰; 阴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
侌
侌yīn陰yīn
Same sound today

The traditional form 陰 combines 阜, the meaning part, with 侌, the sound part. The simplified 阴 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 阴 →

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
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →
Appears in
Body Parts

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