腰身 (yāo shēn) — waistline (of a person or garment); girth (of a… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

waistline (of a person or garment)girth (of a garment)

Examples

腰身。
Zhè jiàn yī fu de yāo shēn shè jì dé hěn hǎo.
The waistline of this garment is well designed.
腰身。
Tā de yāo shēn hěn xì.
Her waistline is very slim.
腰身。
Zhè tiáo qún zi de yāo shēn yǒu diǎn jǐn.
The waistline of this skirt is a bit tight.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

身shēnbody; figure

腰 and 身 both point to the body, combining to mean the waistline or figure of a person or garment.

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 身 comes from a drawing of a pregnant woman.

Appears in

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