冲天 (chōng tiān) — towering, soaring | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

adjective

toweringsoaring

冲天。
Tā de chōng tiān dòu zhì gǔ wǔ le suǒ yǒu rén.
His soaring fighting spirit inspired everyone.
冲天。
Gōng chǎng de yān cōng mào chū chōng tiān hēi yān.
Towering black smoke came out of the factory chimney.
冲天。
Tā yǒu yì zhǒng chōng tiān de zhì xiàng.
She has a soaring ambition.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

冲 suggests rushing, and 天 sky, so the image is towering toward the sky.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 衝; 冲 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 冲 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (冲, 冲动) it is 衝; in others (冲) it is 沖.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

重

Same sound today

The traditional form 衝 shows 重 inside 行, with 行 as the meaning part and 重 as the sound part; the simplified 冲 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

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

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

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