不倒翁 (bù dǎo wēng) — roly-poly toy; daruma doll; (figurative) resilient person who always recovers from setbacks

Definition

Literally 'tumble-down old man': a round-bottomed roly-poly toy that always rights itself, used figuratively for someone who bounces back from every setback.

noun
roly-poly toydaruma doll(figurative) resilient person who always recovers from setbacks
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 不倒翁，。
    Zhè ge bù dǎo wēng hěn yǒu yì si, zěn me tuī dōu bú huì dǎo.
    This roly-poly toy is really interesting — no matter how you push it, it won't fall over.
  • ，不倒翁。
    Shī bài le bú yào qì něi, yào zuò yí gè bù dǎo wēng.
    Don't be discouraged by failure — be a person who always bounces back.
  • 不倒翁，。
    Tā jiù xiàng gè bù dǎo wēng, měi cì yù dào kùn nan dōu néng chóng xīn zhàn qǐ lái.
    He's like a roly-poly doll — every time he faces difficulties, he stands right back up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

不倒not fall
不bùnot倒dǎofall
偏正Modifier + head
翁wēngold man

不 means not, 倒 means fall, and 翁 means old man, so the toy is an old man who does not fall.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
到
到dào倒dào
Same sound today

倒 combines 亻 (person) with 到, which gives the sound.

Open 倒 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
公
公gōng翁wēng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

翁 combines 羽 (wings) with 公, which gives the sound. Its shape originally pointed to feathers, and it later came to be used for “old man” and related senses.

Open 翁 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.