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嗓子 (sǎng zi) — throat; voice

Definition

咽 (yàn) is the act of swallowing — different anatomy, different verb. 嗓子 is everyday for both 'throat' (sore throat) and 'voice' (singing voice); 喉咙 and 咽喉 are more anatomical/literary.

noun
throatvoice
Measure word · 把

Examples

  • 嗓子，。
    Wǒ zuì jìn sǎng zi téng, bù néng duō shuō huà.
    I have a sore throat recently and can't talk much.
  • 嗓子，。
    Tā de sǎng zi hěn hǎo, chàng qǐ gē lái tè bié yǒu gǎn qíng.
    His voice is very good; he sings with great emotion.
  • 嗓子，。
    Tā yǒu yì bǎ hǎo sǎng zi, zài bǐ sài zhōng dé le dì yī míng.
    She has a great voice and got first place in the competition.

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.

嗓sǎngthroat
子zǐsuffix

嗓 gives the throat, and 子 completes the familiar word for it.

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
桑
桑sāng嗓sǎng
Same sound today

嗓 pairs 口 (mouth) with 桑 (sāng), which gives the character its sound.

Open 嗓 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Body Parts

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