胸部 (xiōng bù) — chest, thorax | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

chestthorax

Measure word · 个

Examples

胸部。
Tā xiōng bù shòu shāng le.
He injured his chest.
胸部。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de xiōng bù.
The doctor examined her chest.
胸部。
xiōng bù Shì shēn tǐ de zhòng yào bù fen.
The chest is an important part of the body.

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.

The meaning comes from 胸 and 部, naming the part of the body that is the 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

Sound part声符shēngfú

咅

咅pǒu部bù

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

部 pairs 咅, which gives the sound, with 邑. It originally named a place in today's Gansu.

Appears in

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