腰包 (yāo bāo) — waist pouch; money bag; (figurative) one's mone… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'waist pouch' — a small bag worn at the belt. Figuratively, 掏腰包 means to pay out of one's own pocket.

noun

waist pouchmoney bag(figurative) one's moneypocket (as in 'to pay out of one's own pocket')

Measure word · 个

Examples

腰包。
Tā yāo jiān guà zhe yí gè yāo bāo.
He wore a waist pouch at his belt.
腰包。
Zhè cì jù cān jīng lǐ tāo le yāo bāo.
The manager paid for this dinner out of his own pocket.
，腰包。
Tā zuì jìn shēng yì hǎo, yāo bāo gǔ qǐ lái le.
His business is doing well lately, and his wallet has grown fat.

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.

A pouch worn at the waist: 腰 means waist and 包 means bag.

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ròuflesh

Sound part声符shēngfú

要

要yào腰yāo

Same sound today

The left part ⺼ is flesh; the right part 要 gives the sound.

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

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Appears in

Footwear & Accessories

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