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像样 (xiàng yàng) — presentable; decent; up to standard

Definition

像样 means 'presentable, decent' — a result, skill, or appearance is acceptable or respectable. Unlike 合格 (meeting an objective standard) or 体面 (more about social dignity), 像样 focuses on whether something looks good enough.

adjective
presentabledecentup to standard

Examples

  • 像样。
    Tā de gōng zuò zuò dé bú tài xiàng yàng.
    His work is not very presentable.
  • 像样。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān shōu shi dé hěn xiàng yàng.
    This room is tidied up very decently.
  • 像样。
    Tā de zhōng wén shuō dé xiāng dāng xiàng yàng.
    His Chinese is spoken quite presentably.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

像xiàngresemble
样yàngappearance

像 means resemble and 样 means appearance, giving the sense of a proper appearance.

Characters in this word

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rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
象
象xiàng像
Same sound today

像 uses 亻, the side form of 人 (person), with 象 giving the sound.

Open 像 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樣; 样 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
羕
羕yàng樣yàng
Same sound today

For 样, the traditional form 樣 pairs 木 (wood) with 羕 as a sound part.

Open 样 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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