Chinese word

筋

Pronunciation

Pinyinjīn

Meaning

  • nounsinew

Example

做菜时请把牛肉的筋去掉。zuò cài shí qǐng bǎ niú ròu de jīn qù diào

When cooking, remove the sinew from the beef.

Illustration for 筋 (sinew)

More examples

炖牛筋需要较长时间才能变软。dùn niú jīn xū yào jiào cháng shí jiān cái néng biàn ruǎn

Stewing beef tendon takes a long time to become tender.

Core concept

The body's internal pulling material, carrying muscular force through movement and becoming a painful knot during a cramp.

Common phrases

  • 牛筋niú jīn

    beef tendon

  • 切掉筋qiē diào jīn

    cut away the sinew

  • 剔除筋tī chú jīn

    remove the sinew

Similar words

肌肉jī ròu: The thick tissue that contracts to move the body by pulling on bones.
腱jiàn: A strong cord of connective tissue that joins a muscle to a bone and carries its force.
纤维xiān wéi: A thin, threadlike strand of material that makes up tissue.

Definition in Chinese

指属于肌肉系统的纤维状结缔组织（包括肌腱和肌纤维），在运动中负责传递收缩产生的力量，也用于指肌肉的不自主收缩（抽筋）。zhǐ shǔ yú jī ròu xì tǒng de xiān wéi zhuàng jié dì zǔ zhī bāo kuò jī jiàn hé jī xiān wéi zài yùn dòng zhōng fù zé chuán dì shōu suō chǎn shēng de lì liàng yě yòng yú zhǐ jī ròu de bú zì zhǔ shōu suō chōu jīn

Word origin

筋 (jīn, "sinew") preserves an old bodily meaning for tendon-like tissue while extending that meaning to muscle and involuntary muscular contraction.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, the surrounding body part often supplies the needed context, so the same noun can describe tissue in a leg, arm, or piece of meat without sounding technical.

Other meanings

  • musclenoun

Opposites

  • 骨骼gǔ gébone structurenoun

Related words

  • 筋疲力尽jīn pí lì jìnbe exhaustedidiom
  • 牛筋niú jīnbeef tendonnoun

Word lists with this word