胳膊

• Pinyin: gē bo
• Hanzi breakdown: 胳 = 月 (flesh radical) + 各 (phonetic — joint/limb); 膊 = 月 (flesh radical) + 尃 (spread — upper arm)

Meaning

Arm; the upper limb of the human body from shoulder to wrist.

Colloquial and commonly used term for the human arm. Often used in everyday speech rather than the more formal 手臂. Can refer specifically to the upper arm in some contexts. Appears in idioms about strength and physical labour.

Examples

1. 他的胳膊因长期从事体力劳动而变得格外粗壮有力。 Because he’s done manual labor for years, his arms have become especially thick and strong.
2. 手术后她的左胳膊需要用绷带固定，暂时无法正常活动。 After the surgery, her left arm needs to be immobilized with a bandage, so she can’t move it normally for now.
3. 孩子摔倒后哭喊着说胳膊很疼，医生检查后确认是轻微骨折。 After the child fell, he cried and said his arm hurt; after an examination, the doctor confirmed it was a minor fracture.

Usage Guide

Context: everyday, medical, physical

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他搬重物时胳膊用力过猛，第二天酸痛难忍，休息了整整两天才缓过来。(He exerted too much force in his arm while moving heavy objects — by the next day it was terribly sore, and it took him two full days of rest to recover.)
• 受伤后医生嘱咐他近期不要用胳膊提重物，至少静养两周。(After the injury, the doctor told him not to lift heavy objects with his arm — at least two weeks of rest were needed.)

Don't Say

• 胳膊 in formal medical documents — in formal clinical or official writing, 手臂 or 上肢 is preferred over the colloquial 胳膊

Origin & History

胳 = 月 + 各 (limb joint — phonetic); 膊 = 月 + 尃 (upper arm, shoulder)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal