救生圈

jiùshēngquān
noun #32,197

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 life buoy; life ring; life preserver
  2. 2 belly fat; spare tire

Examples

HSK 4
Chuányuán bǎ jiùshēngquān rēng xiàng luòshuǐ de chéngkè.
The sailor threw the life ring toward the passenger who had fallen overboard.
HSK 4
Tā xiào zhe pāi le pāi dùzi shàng de " jiùshēngquān ".
He laughed and patted his 'spare tire' (belly fat).

Tips

memory
(save) + (life) + (ring) - literally 'save-life ring'. The transparent compounding makes it easy: a ring that saves lives.
usage
The slang sense - using 救生圈 for the roll of fat around someone's waist - is gentle and self-deprecating, parallel to English 'spare tire'. Often written in quotes when used this way.

Stroke Order

jiù
shēng
quān