中指 (zhōng zhǐ) — middle finger | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

middle finger

Measure word · 根

Examples

中指。
Tā shēng qì dì shù qǐ zhōng zhǐ.
He angrily raised his middle finger.
中指。
Wǒ de zhōng zhǐ bèi mén jiá le yí xià.
My middle finger got pinched by the door.
中指。
Tā bǎ jiè zhi dài zài zhōng zhǐ shàng.
He wore the ring on his middle finger.

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.

中zhōngmiddle

中 “middle” + 指 “finger” names the central finger.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

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

扌旨指

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒu

Sound part声符shēngfú

旨

旨zhǐ指zhǐ

Same sound today

The left part 扌 is the hand form 手. The right part 旨 gives the sound.

Appears in

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