腰杆 (yāo gān) — lower back, waist (body part); backing, support (figurative, often in 腰杆子硬)

Definition

Literally 'lower back/waist,' but figuratively it means the backing or confidence a person stands on — used in 腰杆子硬 to say someone has strong support and stands firm.

noun
lower backwaist (body part)backingsupport (figurative, often in 腰杆子硬)

Examples

  • ，腰杆。
    Tā nián jì dà le, yāo gān jiàn jiàn wān le xià qù.
    He is old, and his lower back has gradually bent down.
  • ，腰杆。
    Yǒu gōng sī zuò hòu dùn, tā de yāo gān gèng yìng le.
    With the company as his backing, his support is stronger.
  • 腰杆，亢。
    Zuò rén yào yāo gān tǐng zhí, bù bēi bú kàng.
    One should hold one's back straight and be neither humble nor arrogant.

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.

腰yāowaist
杆gānrod

腰 “waist” + 杆 “rod” pictures a supporting rod at the waist, hence backing or support.

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.

Open 腰 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān杆gǎn
Same sound today

杆 pairs 木 (tree) with 干, which gives the sound. The 木 part shows the thing is made of wood.

Open 杆 →

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