喘喘气 (chuǎn chuǎn qì) — to catch one's breath, to take a breather

Definition

verb
to catch one's breathto take a breather

Examples

  • ，喘喘气。
    Pǎo le zhè me jiǔ, wǒ dé chuǎn chuǎn qì zài zǒu.
    After running so long, I need to catch my breath before walking again.
  • ，喘喘气。
    Gōng zuò tài lèi le, wǒ men chuǎn chuǎn qì ba.
    Work is too tiring, let's take a break.
  • 喘喘气，。
    Tā tíng xià lái chuǎn chuǎn qì, rán hòu jì xù pá shān.
    He stopped to catch his breath, then continued climbing the mountain.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

喘喘pant
喘chuǎnpant喘chuǎnpant
重叠Reduplication
气qìbreath

喘喘 means panting, and 气 is breath, so the action is panting to catch breath.

Characters in this word

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
耑
耑zhuān喘chuǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

喘 is made from 口 (mouth) and 耑, which supplies the sound.

Open 喘 →

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
耑
耑zhuān喘chuǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

喘 is made from 口 (mouth) and 耑, which supplies the sound.

Open 喘 →

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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