胳

肐

gē, gā, gé

Rank #2490

Definitions

gē (noun) armpit

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 各 represents the sound. Simplified form of 肐.

Semantic: ⺼ Phonetic: 各

About

The character 胳, formed by the semantic component 月, a variant of the flesh radical 肉, and the phonetic element 各, originally specified the armpit or the upper arm in early Chinese texts, reflecting its direct association with the body's physical structure. Over time, its semantic scope expanded from this narrow anatomical reference to encompass the entire arm, a shift evident in its modern role within the compound 胳膊. While its graphic construction has persisted without major alteration, the character's enduring phono-semantic design continues to encode both its relational meaning to flesh and its auditory cue through the constituent 各.

Example Sentences Hide

他举起了胳膊。

Tā jǔqǐle gēbo.

He raised his arm.

妈妈轻轻地拍了拍孩子的胳膊。

Māmā qīngqīng de pāi le pāi háizi de gēbo.

Mother gently patted the child's arm.

他胳膊下面夹着一个公文包。

Tā gēbo xiàmiàn jiāzhe yīgè gōngwénbāo.

He is carrying a briefcase under his arm。

我摔了一跤，胳膊肘擦破了皮。

Wǒ shuāile yī jiāo, gēbozhǒu cāpòle pí.

I fell down and scraped the skin on my elbow.

弟弟的胳膊很瘦弱，没什么力气。

Dìdi de gēbo hěn shòuruò, méi shénme lìqì.

My younger brother's arms are very skinny and not very strong.

干活前，他挽起了胳膊上的袖子。

Gànhuó qián, tā wǎn qǐle gēbo shàng de xiùzi.

Before starting work, he rolled up the sleeves on his arms.

在医学上，胳膊的上臂和前臂结构不同。

Zài yīxué shàng, gēbo de shàngbì hé qiánbì jiégòu bùtóng.

Medically, the upper arm and the forearm of the arm have different structures.

经过反复争论，他意识到胳膊拧不过大腿。

Jīngguò fǎnfù zhēnglùn, tā yìshí dào gēbo nǐng bùguò dàtuǐ.

After repeated arguments, he realized that the arm cannot twist the thigh (meaning one can't win against a much stronger power).

Related Characters

Component: 各

Component: 月

Components

各月

胳