肌肉 (jī ròu) — muscle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

肌肉 means 'muscle' (body tissue that produces movement). Unlike 肉 ('flesh'/'meat' in general), it specifically refers to the muscle fibers inside the body.

noun

muscle

Measure word · 块

Examples

，肌肉。
Tā měi tiān pǎo bù, jī ròu hěn jiē shi.
He runs every day, so his muscles are very solid.
肌肉。
Yùn dòng hòu jì de lā shēn jī ròu.
Remember to stretch your muscles after exercise.
肌肉，。
Zhè kuài jī ròu yǒu diǎn téng, kě néng shì lā shāng le.
This muscle hurts a bit; it might be pulled.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

肌jīmuscle

肌 and 肉 both refer to body tissue; together they mean muscle or flesh.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

几

几jǐ肌jī

Same sound today

In 肌, the left part ⺼ is the flesh form, matching muscle or flesh, while the right part 几 supplies the sound.

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

The original shape of 肉 showed ribs of an animal’s torso, or simply a slice of meat.

Appears in

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