皮囊 (pí náng) — leather bag; (Buddhist) the human body (as a te…

Definition

Literary word with two senses: a 'leather bag' (literal), and — especially in Buddhist writing — 'the human body as a temporary vessel' for the soul.

noun

leather bag(Buddhist) the human body (as a temporary vessel)

Measure word · 个

皮囊。
Zhè ge pí náng shì pí de.
This leather bag is made of leather.
皮囊。
Fó jiào shuō pí náng shì zàn shí de.
Buddhism says the human body is temporary.
皮囊，。
Bié zhī kàn pí náng, yào kàn nèi xīn.
Don't just look at the body; look at the heart.

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.

皮 and 囊 form a skin bag, used for the body as a temporary vessel.

Characters in this word

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

皮 shows a hand pulling fur off an animal pelt, with the pelt drawn at the upper left.

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

㯻㯻㯻bag

Sound part声符shēngfú

襄

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

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Appears in