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光棍 (guāng gùn) — bachelor, unmarried man; (colloquial) hoodlum, ruffian, tough guy; (dialectal) brave man, fearless person

Definition

A single word covers two unrelated meanings: an unmarried man (the everyday sense, as in 打光棍 'stay single'), and a colloquial 'tough/rough guy' (like saying 混蛋). Don't confuse the two senses from context.

noun
bachelorunmarried man(colloquial) hoodlumruffiantough guy(dialectal) brave manfearless person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，光棍。
    Tā dōu sān shí wǔ suì le, hái shì gè guāng gùn.
    He's already 35 years old, and he's still a bachelor.
  • 光棍，。
    Nà rén shì gè guāng gùn, nǐ kě bié rě tā.
    That guy is a hoodlum — better not provoke him.
  • ，光棍。
    Tā yí gè rén gǎn zǒu yè lù, zhēn shì tiáo guāng gùn.
    He dares to walk alone at night — what a brave man.

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.

光guāngbare
棍gùnstick

“光” means bare and “棍” means stick; the image of a bare stick is used for a bachelor or tough man.

Characters in this word

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

  • 火火huǒfire
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Open 光 →

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
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
昆
昆kūn棍gùn(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

棍 has 木 (tree) beside 昆, which gives its sound.

Open 棍 →
Appears in
Romance & MarriageSocial Roles & Status

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