参差 (cēn cī) — uneven, irregular, not uniform

Definition

Literary/formal adjective meaning 'uneven, irregular, varied' — used for things of mixed size, quality, or alignment (teeth, leaves, opinions). Stronger and more literary than plain 整齐.

adjective
unevenirregularnot uniform

Examples

  • 参差。
    Zhè xiē shù de yè zi dà xiǎo cēn cī.
    The leaves of these trees vary in size unevenly.
  • 。
    Tā de yá chǐ cháng dé cēn cī bù qí.
    His teeth grew in uneven and irregular.
  • 参差，。
    Dà jiā de yì jiàn cēn cī, hěn nán dá chéng yí zhì.
    Everyone's opinions are varied and inconsistent, making it hard to reach agreement.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 參; 参 is its simplified writing.

For simplified 参, the story belongs to traditional 參, which combines 晶 (stars), 光 (light), and 彡 (rays) to show the Three Stars; one reading takes 光 as a kneeling person looking up.

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

  • 來來láiwheat
  • 𠂇𠂇𠂇left hand

差 pairs 來 (wheat) with 𠂇 (left hand), showing wheat rubbed in a hand to remove its hull.

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