胸骨 (xiōng gǔ) — breastbone, sternum | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

breastbonesternum

Measure word · 块

Examples

胸骨，。
Yī shēng jiǎn chá le tā de xiōng gǔ, fā xiàn méi yǒu gǔ zhé.
The doctor examined his sternum and found no fracture.
胸骨。
xiōng gǔ Wèi yú xiōng qiāng de zhèng zhōng yāng.
The sternum is located in the center of the chest cavity.
胸骨。
Chē huò dǎo zhì tā de xiōng gǔ yán zhòng shòu sǔn.
The car accident caused severe damage to his sternum.

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.

胸, chest, and 骨, bone, together name the bone in 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

冎

冎guǎ骨gǔ

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

The older form 冎 drew a bone; 肉, flesh, was added to make 骨.

Appears in

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