仓皇 (cāng huáng) — hurriedly, in a panic

Definition

仓皇 describes fleeing or leaving in a hurried panic. Usually modifies a verb with 地, as in 仓皇地逃走.

adverb

hurriedlyin a panic

仓皇。
Tā cāng huáng dì táo zǒu le.
He fled in a panic.
仓皇。
Tā cāng huáng dì lí kāi le fáng jiān.
She left the room hurriedly.
仓皇。
Dà jiā cāng huáng dì shōu shi dōng xī.
Everyone hastily packed their things.

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

The characters 仓 and 皇 carry no separate meaning here; together they express hurried panic.

Sound-only characters

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 倉; 仓 is its simplified writing.

仓 is explained through the traditional form 倉, which pairs 合 (gather) with 戶 (door) to show a warehouse.

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

𤼽𤼽𤼽

Sound part声符shēngfú

王

王wáng皇huáng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 𤼽 originally drew a single peacock feather; 王 was later added to give the sound.