(hái) — (bound form) bones of the body; skeleton

Definition

A literary bound form used almost exclusively in 骸骨 (skeleton/remains) and 遗骸 (remains of the dead). Not used alone in everyday speech.

bound form
bones of the bodyskeleton

Examples

  • Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le yí jù gǔ dài de hái gǔ.
    Archaeologists discovered an ancient skeleton.
  • Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le yí jù wán zhěng de hái gǔ.
    Archaeologists found a complete skeleton.
  • Dì zhèn hòu, jiù yuán rén yuán zhǎo dào le yù nàn zhě de yí hái.
    After the earthquake, rescuers found the remains of the victims.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
bone
Sound part声符shēngfú
hàihái
Same sound today

骸 pairs 骨, which shows the meaning is about bones, with 亥, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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