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原封不动 (yuán fēng bù dòng) — (set phrase) unchanged, untouched, exactly as it was before

Definition

An idiom meaning something is kept completely untouched, exactly as it was received or originally was — with no changes, opening, or use.

idiom
(set phrase) unchangeduntouchedexactly as it was before

Examples

  • 原封不动。
    Tā bǎ lǐ wù yuán fēng bù dòng dì tuì le huí qù.
    He returned the gift exactly as it was, without opening it.
  • 原封不动，。
    Nà fèn wén jiàn yuán fēng bù dòng dì fàng zài zhuō shàng, méi rén dòng guò.
    That document sat untouched on the desk, no one had moved it.
  • 原封不动。
    Zhè duàn fǎ lǜ tiáo wén yuán fēng bù dòng dì yán yòng le èr shí nián.
    This legal provision has been kept unchanged for twenty years.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

原封original seal
原yuánoriginal封fēngseal
偏正Modifier + head
不动not move
不bùnot动dòngmove
偏正Modifier + head

The 原封 is the original seal and 不动 says it has not moved, giving the sense of being left intact.

Characters in this word

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

原 combines 泉 (spring) and 厂 (cliff), picturing a spring bursting from a cliff-side, which gives the sense of origin or source.

Open 原 →

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
土土tǔearth
寸寸cùnhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丰
丰fēng封fēng
Same sound today

The shape 封 is 丰 plus 土 (earth) plus 寸 (hand); 丰 was originally drawn as a tree seedling.

Open 封 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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 動; 动 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
重
重zhòng動dòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 動 uses 力 (strength) and 重 as a sound part; 重 refers to a heavy bag ready to be moved by a human. This note is about 動, not 动.

Open 动 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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