Chinese word

手臂

Pronunciation

Pinyinshǒu bì

Meaning

  • nounarm

Example

我的手臂有点麻木。wǒ de shǒu bì yóu diǎn má mù

My arm feels a little numb.

Illustration for 手臂 (arm)

More examples

他抬起手臂示意大家安静。tā tái qǐ shǒu bì shì yì dà jiā ān jìng

He raised his arm to signal everyone to be quiet.

Core concept

A shoulder-to-wrist limb treated as a single functional part of the body.

Common phrases

  • 抬起手臂tái qǐ shǒu bì

    raise one's arm

  • 弯曲手臂wān qū shǒu bì

    bend one's arm

  • 手臂疼痛shǒu bì téng tòng

    arm pain

Similar words

手shǒu: Includes the palm and fingers and is used to grasp and handle objects.
胳膊gē bó: Refers to the arm from shoulder to wrist in familiar, everyday speech.
臂bì: Refers to the arm from shoulder to wrist in specialized or old-fashioned language.

Definition in Chinese

指人的上肢部分，从肩膀到手腕，包括上臂和前臂。zhǐ rén de shàng zhī bù fèn cóng jiān bǎng dào shǒu wàn bāo kuò shàng bì hé qián bì

Word origin

The compound 手臂 (shǒubì, "arm") puts 手 (shǒu, "hand") and 臂 (bì, "arm") together to refer to the limb rather than to either component alone.

Usage tips

  • The noun does not change form for number, so context or a numeral shows whether one arm or both arms are meant.

Opposites

  • 腿tuǐlegnoun
  • 下肢xià zhīlower limbnoun

Related words

  • 前臂qián bìforearmnoun
  • 上臂shàng bìupper armnoun
  • 臂力bì lìarm strengthnoun

Word lists with this word