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发臭 (fā chòu) — to stink, to give off a bad smell

Definition

A simple verb meaning 'to start stinking / to give off a bad smell', often because food has spoiled or something has rotted. Note that 发 here is NOT the more common 发 'to send / to emit hair'.

verb
to stinkto give off a bad smell

Examples

  • 发臭。
    Lā jī tǒng lǐ de shí wù yǐ jīng kāi shǐ fā chòu le.
    The food in the trash can has already started to stink.
  • ，。
    Zhè kuài ròu fàng le sān tiān, zǎo jiù fā le chòu.
    This piece of meat has been sitting for three days; it stank long ago.
  • 发臭，。
    Xià shuǐ dào fā chòu, kuài zhǎo rén xiū yí xià.
    The sewer stinks — find someone to fix it quickly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

发fāgive off
臭chòubad smell

发 gives off and 臭 is a bad smell, so the sense is to stink.

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.

臭 combines 自 (nose) and 犬 (dog), referring to a dog's strong sense of smell; it originally meant 'to smell'.

Open 臭 →
Appears in
Senses

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