名噪一时 (míng zào yī shí) — to be famous for a time (especially within one's own era); to enjoy considerable renown among one's contemporaries

Definition

An idiom meaning someone or something was very famous for a short period in their own era. It implies the fame was intense but did not last — a contrast with lasting, enduring renown.

idiom
to be famous for a time (especially within one's own era)to enjoy considerable renown among one's contemporaries

Examples

  • 名噪一时，。
    Tā zài nà ge nián dài míng zào yī shí, shì dāng shí zuì zhù míng de yì shù jiā zhī yī.
    He was famous for a time in that era, one of the most renowned artists of his day.
  • 名噪一时，。
    Zhè wèi xué zhě suī rán míng zào yī shí, dàn hòu lái bèi rén yí wàng le.
    Although this scholar was famous for a time, he was later forgotten.
  • 2090名噪一时。
    Nà zhǒng kuǎn shì zhī zài 20 shì jì 90 nián dài míng zào yī shí jǐ gè yuè.
    That style only enjoyed fleeting fame for a few months in the 1990s.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
喿
喿zào噪zào
Same sound today

噪 combines 口 (mouth) with 喿, a part read zào and meaning 'to chirp'; the character was originally written just 喿.

Open 噪 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 時; 时 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
日日rìsun; day
Sound part声符shēngfú
之
之zhī時shí
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 時 pairs 日 (sun/day) with 之 as the part that gives the sound; the simplified 时 is not the form described.

Open 时 →

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