掌骨 (zhǎng gǔ) — metacarpal bone (one of the five bones in the p… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

metacarpal bone (one of the five bones in the palm of the hand)

Measure word · 块

Examples

，掌骨。
Tā shuāi le yì jiāo, zhǎng gǔ gǔ zhé le.
He fell and fractured his metacarpal bone.
掌骨，。
Shǒu zhǎng yǒu wǔ gēn zhǎng gǔ, lián jiē shǒu zhǐ hé shǒu wàn.
The palm has five metacarpal bones that connect the fingers to the wrist.
X掌骨。
Yī shēng tōng guò X guāng jiǎn chá le tā de zhǎng gǔ.
The doctor examined his metacarpal bones with an X-ray.

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.

掌 means palm and 骨 means bone: a bone in the palm.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尚

尚shàng掌zhǎng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

It combines 手, meaning hand, with 尚, which gives it a sound close to shàng.

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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