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发呆 (fā dāi) — to be in a daze, to stare blankly

Definition

发呆 means spacing out or staring blankly, often unintentionally, without a specific focus. Among siblings, 出神 suggests being absorbed in thought, while 发愣 is closer in meaning and sometimes used interchangeably.

verb
to be in a dazeto stare blankly

Examples

  • 发呆。
    Tā shàng kè de shí hou zǒng zài fā dāi.
    He always spaces out during class.
  • ，。
    Tā zài nà r fā le bàn tiān dāi, shén me yě méi zuò.
    He spaced out there for ages and didn't do anything.
  • 发呆，？
    Bié fā dāi le, kuài xiǎng xiǎng zěn me bàn nǐ xiǎng hǎo le ma?
    Stop staring blankly — have you figured out what to do?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

发fāproduce
呆dāidaze

发 (produce) and 呆 (daze) combine to mean producing a daze, staring blankly.

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 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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

呆 combines 口 (mouth) and 木 (wood) to show something dull or wooden, which came to mean foolish.

Open 呆 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Emotions & Feelings

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