尺骨 (chǐ gǔ) — ulna (bone of the forearm) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

ulna (bone of the forearm)

Measure word · 块

Examples

，尺骨。
Tā bù xiǎo xīn shuāi dǎo le, jié guǒ chǐ gǔ gǔ zhé le.
He accidentally fell and ended up with a fractured ulna.
X尺骨。
Yī shēng zài X guāng piàn shàng qīng chǔ dì kàn dào le chǐ gǔ de liè wén.
The doctor clearly saw a crack in the ulna on the X-ray.
尺骨。
Rén de qián bì yóu chǐ gǔ hé ráo gǔ liǎng gēn gǔ tou zǔ chéng.
The human forearm consists of two bones: the ulna and the radius.

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.

“尺” (ruler) and “骨” (bone) name the forearm bone.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is thought to picture a hand with the thumb and middle finger spread apart, like a natural ruler for measuring length.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

冎

冎guǎ骨gǔ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Appears in

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