鼻子

鼻子 (bízi) is the everyday Chinese noun for 'nose' — the organ on your face used for breathing and smelling. The second syllable 子 is a noun suffix with neutral tone; it carries no meaning of its own here, just like 房子 (house) or 桌子 (table). Two things differ from English: first, Chinese names body parts with this 子 suffix far more often than English uses any marker, so beginners should expect 鼻子 rather than bare 鼻; second, 鼻子 is the all-purpose word in both spoken and written contexts — medical or anatomical writing may use the single character 鼻 (e.

g. 鼻炎 rhinitis, 鼻血 nosebleed), but in conversation you almost always say 鼻子. Common collocations cover blowing your nose (擤鼻子), a blocked nose (鼻子不通), and a high nose bridge (鼻子高).