骨髓 (gǔ suǐ) — bone marrow; (figurative) innermost core, essen… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literally 'bone marrow' (骨 bone + 髓 marrow). Used figuratively in 深入骨髓 ('deep to the marrow') to mean something reaches the very core of a person.

noun

bone marrow(figurative) innermost coreessence

Examples

骨髓。
Yī shēng xū yào cóng gǔ suǐ lǐ tí qǔ yàng běn.
The doctor needs to extract a sample from the bone marrow.
骨髓。
Zhè zhǒng xí guàn yǐ jīng shēn rù gǔ suǐ.
This habit has become deeply ingrained.
骨髓。
Tā yīn wèi gǔ suǐ jí bìng zhù yuàn le.
He was hospitalized due to a bone marrow disease.

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.

"骨" means bone and "髓" means marrow, together meaning bone marrow.

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

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.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Appears in

Organs & Anatomy

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