发慌 (fā huāng) — to feel nervous; to get flustered

Definition

发慌 (fāhuāng) is a colloquial verb meaning 'to get flustered / panicked', often used in imperatives to calm someone down. Less intense than 害怕 (fear) — it describes temporary nervousness, not lasting fear.

verb
to feel nervousto get flustered

Examples

  • 发慌，。
    Bié fā huāng, màn màn shuō.
    Don't get flustered, speak slowly.
  • ？。
    Nǐ fā shén me huāng? zhè shì hěn róng yì.
    What are you panicking about? This is easy.
  • ，。
    Tā zuó tiān fā le huāng, jīn tiān hǎo duō le.
    He got flustered yesterday, but today he's much better.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

发fābecome
慌huāngflustered

发 gives becoming, and 慌 gives flustered, so the whole means to become flustered.

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 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
荒
荒huāng慌huāng
Same sound today

慌 pairs 忄 (heart) with 荒, which gives the sound.

Open 慌 →

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