胸脯 (xiōng pú) — chest (front of the body, especially the pector… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

chest (front of the body, especially the pectoral area)

Measure word · 个

Examples

胸脯。
Tā de xiōng pú hěn jiē shi.
His chest is very strong.
胸脯。
Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn lù chū xiōng pú de qún zi.
She wore a dress that exposed her chest.
胸脯。
Yī shēng zǐ xì jiǎn chá le wǒ de xiōng pú.
The doctor carefully examined my chest.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

胸 and 脯 both refer to the front of the body, together meaning chest.

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

肉肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

匈

匈xiōng胸xiōng

Same sound today

胸 adds 肉 (meat/flesh) to the original form 匈, which provides the sound.

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

甫

甫fǔ脯fǔ

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

脯 has ⺼ (肉, meat) on the left to mark that it is about flesh or meat, and 甫 on the right to give its sound.

Appears in

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.