单飞 (dān fēi) — solo flight; going solo (as a pilot or performer); (figurative) a married person who lives or works abroad alone, apart from their spouse

Definition

单飞 literally means 'flying solo' — a pilot flying alone, or figuratively a performer going solo, or a married person living/working abroad apart from their spouse.

noun
solo flightgoing solo (as a pilot or performer)(figurative) a married person who lives or works abroad alone, apart from their spouse

Examples

  • 单飞。
    Tā dì yī cì dān fēi jiù yù dào le è liè tiān qì.
    He encountered bad weather on his first solo flight.
  • 单飞。
    Nà ge gē shǒu lí kāi zǔ hé hòu xuān bù dān fēi fā zhǎn.
    That singer announced he would go solo after leaving the group.
  • ，单飞。
    Hěn duō yǐ hūn rén shì zài hǎi wài gōng zuò, guò zhe dān fēi shēng huó.
    Many married people work abroad and live a solo life without their spouse.

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.

单dānalone
飞fēifly

单 (alone) and 飞 (fly) combine to mean flying or working alone.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 單; 单 is its simplified writing.

The form 單 originally pictured a Y-shaped wooden stick with two stones on top.

Open 单 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

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