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上相 (shàng xiāng) — photogenic

Definition

Means a person looks good in photos specifically. Applies to people (or their features), not to scenery or objects.

adjective
photogenic

Examples

  • 上相，。
    Tā zhēn shàng xiāng, zěn me pāi dōu hǎo kàn.
    She is really photogenic; no matter how you take a picture, it looks good.
  • 上相，。
    Zhè zhāng zhào piàn bú tài shàng xiāng, wǒ men zhòng pāi ba.
    This photo is not very photogenic, let's retake it.
  • 上相。
    Nǐ běn rén bǐ zhào piàn hái shàng xiāng.
    You are even more photogenic in person than in photos.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

上shàngappear
相xiāngphotograph

上 means appear and 相 means photograph, so a person looks good in pictures.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →
Appears in
AppearancePhotography & Design

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