Onyomi: ヨウ · Kunyomi: こし · Meanings: hips, loins, low wainscoting, waist
Kanji for hips, loins, low wainscoting, waist
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腰 is made from 月 (flesh/body) on the left and 要 on the right. 月 represents parts of the human body. 要 originally shows the middle part of the body and carries the idea of something essential. The waist is the central and important part of the body that supports movement. Because it is a key body area, 腰 came to mean the waist or lower back.
腰 is the important middle part of the body — the waist.
Think of your body (月) and the most important middle part (要) that bends and supports you. That crucial body center is 腰, the waist.
| Word | Reading | Meaning | Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 腰 | こし | lower back, waist, hips, lumbar region | common JLPT-N3 Noun |
| 腰 | こし | counter for swords, hakama, obi, etc. worn around the waist | Counter |
| 腰 | ごし | posture, position, pose, attitude | Noun, used as a suffix |
| 腰掛ける | こしかける | to sit (down) | common JLPT-N2 Ichidan verb, Intransitive verb |
| 腰掛け | こしかけ | seat, bench | common JLPT-N2 Noun |
| 腰痛 | ようつう | lower back pain, lumbago | common Noun |
| 腰が低い | こしがひくい | humble, modest | Expressions (phrases, clauses, etc.), I-adjective (keiyoushi) |
| 腰抜け | こしぬけ | coward | Noun |
| 腰巾着 | こしぎんちゃく | hanger-on, follower, flunky, sycophant | Noun |
| 腰椎 | ようつい | lumbar vertebra, lumbar vertebrae | Noun, Noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no' |