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冗长 (rǒng cháng) — long-winded, verbose, tedious (of writing or speech)

Definition

冗长 is a written, formal word meaning 'long-winded and tedious,' used mostly for speeches, reports, or prose. Unlike 絮叨/啰唆 (colloquial, about a person talking), 冗长 describes the writing or speech itself.

adjective
long-windedverbosetedious (of writing or speech)

Examples

  • 冗长，。
    Zhè piān xiǎo shuō qíng jié tài rǒng cháng, dú qǐ lái hěn lèi.
    This novel's plot is too long-winded; it's tiring to read.
  • 冗长，。
    Tā de yǎn jiǎng fēi cháng rǒng cháng, dà jiā dōu xiǎng zǎo diǎn jié shù.
    His speech was extremely verbose, and everyone wanted it to end early.
  • ，冗长。
    Xiě bào gào yào jiǎn jié, bì miǎn rǒng cháng de jù zi.
    When writing a report, keep it concise and avoid long-winded sentences.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

冗rǒngredundant
长chánglong

The senses of 冗 and 长 join longness and redundancy, giving a sense of tedious excess.

Characters in this word

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

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 儿儿érperson

冗 combines 宀 (roof) and 儿 (person) to picture a person at home without work to do.

Open 冗 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Communication & SpeechGood & Bad

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