肩膀 (jiān bǎng) — shoulder | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

肩膀 is the body part 'shoulder'. In everyday use, contrast with 胳膊 'arm'; higher-level verbs like 担, 肩负, 担负 are figurative 'to shoulder (a responsibility)', not the body part.

noun

shoulder

Measure word · 个

Examples

肩膀。
Tā dǎ qiú shí jiān bǎng shòu le shāng.
He injured his shoulder while playing ball.
肩膀。
Tā bǎ bēi bāo guà zài jiān bǎng shàng.
She hung the backpack on her shoulder.
肩膀，。
Tā de jiān bǎng hěn jiē shi, shì hé yóu yǒng.
His shoulders are very strong, suitable for swimming.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

肩jiānshoulder

膀bǎngupper arm

肩 and 膀 both point to the shoulder/upper arm, together naming the shoulder.

Characters in this word

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

肩 combines a shoulder shape with a flesh part to show a shoulder.

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

肉肉ròumeat; flesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

旁

旁páng膀pāng

Same sound today

The left part 肉 is flesh; the right part 旁 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Body Parts 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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