Chinese

Noun

膝蓋骨

1. patella; kneecap

Japanese

Etymology

From Sinitic 膝蓋骨.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) しつが​いこつ [shìtsúgáꜜìkòtsù] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɕit͡sɯᵝɡ̃a̠iko̞t͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

膝蓋骨 ‎(hiragana しつがいこつ, romaji shitsugaikotsu)

1. (anatomy) The patella, the kneecap.

Usage notes

Both 膝の皿 ‎(hiza no sara) and 膝皿 ‎(hiza sara) are also in use in modern Japanese, with 膝の皿 ‎(hiza no sara) used more frequently of the two. The term 膝蓋骨 ‎(shitsugaikotsu) is somewhat more technical, a bit like English patella compared to kneecap.

Synonyms

• 膝 (ひざ)の皿 (さら) ‎(hiza no sara)
• 膝皿 (ひざさら) ‎(hiza sara)
• 膝頭 (ひざがしら) ‎(hiza gashira)

References

1. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9