线粒体

線粒體
xiànlìtǐ
noun #31,673

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 mitochondrion
  2. 2 mitochondria

Examples

HSK 6
Xiànlìtǐ shì xìbāo de néngliàng gōngchǎng.
Mitochondria are the cell's powerhouses.
HSK 6
Xiànlìtǐ DNA zhǐ tōngguò mǔqīn yíchuán.
Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only through the mother.

Tips

memory
Beautiful calque: 线 'thread' + 'granule/grain' + 'body' = 'thread-grain body' - a direct translation of 'mitochondrion' (Greek: mitos 'thread' + chondrion 'small grain'). Chinese kept the imagery: a tiny granular body that often appears thread-like under a microscope.
culture
The pop-biology line 线粒体是细胞的发电厂 (mitochondria are the power plants of the cell) is just as common in Chinese textbooks as it is in English ones.

Stroke Order

线 xiàn