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临走 (lín zǒu) — just before leaving; upon departure

Definition

临走 describes an action happening right at the moment of leaving or just before — the brief window before departure. It's a verb-object phrase, not a noun meaning 'departure' itself.

verb
just before leavingupon departure

Examples

  • 临走，。
    lín zǒu Qián, tā gěi měi gè rén fā le yì zhāng míng piàn.
    Just before leaving, he gave each person a business card.
  • 临走。
    Tā lín zǒu shí tè yì dīng zhǔ wǒ yào guān hǎo chuāng hu.
    She specifically reminded me to close the windows when she was about to leave.
  • 临走？
    Nǐ lín zǒu zěn me yě bù shuō yī shēng?
    Why didn't you even say anything when you were about to leave?

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.

临línjust before
走zǒuleave

临走 combines 临 (just before) and 走 (leave), meaning the moment right before departure.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 臨; 临 is its simplified writing.

For the traditional form 臨, 人 is a person, 臣 is an eye, and 品 is objects, showing a person looking down at objects.

Open 临 →

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →
Appears in
Daily Routine

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