颅骨 (lú gū) — skull | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

skull

Measure word · 块

Examples

颅骨。
Tā de lú gū shòu dào le yán zhòng de sǔn shāng.
His skull suffered severe damage.
CT颅骨。
Yī shēng tōng guò CT jiǎn chá le huàn zhě de lú gū.
The doctor examined the patient's skull with a CT scan.
颅骨。
Kǎo gǔ xué jiā fā xiàn le yí kuài gǔ dài rén de lú gū.
Archaeologists discovered a piece of an ancient person's skull.

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.

颅 (skull) and 骨 (bone) combine to name the bony structure of the head.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顱; 颅 is its simplified writing.

盧頁顱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

頁頁yèhead

Sound part声符shēngfú

盧

盧lú顱lú

Same sound today

The traditional form 顱 combines 頁, meaning head, with 盧, which gives the sound; the simplified 颅 is a later shorthand.

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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