腰

yāo
月 + 要
HSK 2.0Level 5
HSK 3.0Level 5

Definitions

yāo (noun) waist; lower back
yāo (noun) middle; center

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. ⺼ represents the meaning and 要 represents the sound.

Semantic: ⺼ Phonetic: 要

About

腰 is a phonosemantic compound: the radical ⺼ (月, a variant of 肉 'flesh') on the left signals a body part, while 要 (yāo) on the right provides the sound. It originally denoted the waist or lower back of a human or animal, and because the waist sits at the body's center, the meaning broadened to indicate the midsection of objects and geographical features, such as the midslope of a mountain or the midpoint of a long item.

Example Sentences Hide

腰疼得直不起来。

Yāo téng de zhí bù qǐ lái.

My back hurts so much I can't straighten up.

我的腰部需要按摩。

Wǒ de yāobù xūyào ànmó.

My lower back needs a massage.

他每天锻炼腰腹力量。

Tā měitiān duànliàn yāo fù lìliàng.

He exercises his core strength every day.

她系了一条漂亮的腰带。

Tā jì le yī tiáo piàoliang de yāodài.

She is wearing a beautiful belt.

长时间坐着对腰不好。

Cháng shíjiān zuòzhe duì yāo bù hǎo.

Sitting for long periods is bad for your back.

医生建议他加强腰部保护。

Yīshēng jiànyì tā jiāqiáng yāobù bǎohù.

The doctor advised him to strengthen the protection of his lower back.

登山时他扭伤了腰，只好休息。

Dēngshān shí tā niǔshāng le yāo, zhǐhǎo xiūxi.

He sprained his back while mountain climbing and had to rest.

那位舞蹈演员的腰身非常柔软灵活。

Nà wèi wǔdǎo yǎnyuán de yāoshēn fēicháng róuruǎn línghuó.

That dancer's waist is very soft and flexible.

Related Characters

Component: 月

有 明 月 期 望 服 青 朝 育 脸 股 脑 胜 背

Component: 要

崾 覅 喓 嘦 婹 嫑 葽 騕

Example Words

腰带 弯腰 懒腰 撑腰 束腰 腰包 腰围 腰子 腰果 腰杆 腰椎 腰缠万贯 腰身 腰部 腰间 腰骨 裤腰带 伸懒腰 半山腰 叉腰 哈腰 山腰 弓腰 后腰