囫囵 (hú lún) — whole, entire (rare standalone use); (in 囫囵吞枣) without understanding, superficially
Definition
Rarely used on its own; 囫囵 almost always appears in the set phrase 囫囵吞枣 ('to swallow a date whole'), meaning to take something in without chewing — i.e. read or learn something superficially without understanding it.
verb
wholeentire (rare standalone use)(in 囫囵吞枣) without understandingsuperficially
Examples
- 囫囵，。Tā dú shū zǒng shì hú lún tūn zǎo, bù qiú shèn jiě.He always reads books superficially without seeking deep understanding.
- 囫囵，。Xué xí bù néng hú lún tūn zǎo, yào màn màn xiāo huà.Learning cannot be done superficially; you need to digest it slowly.
- 囫囵，。Zhè piān wén zhāng wǒ hú lún tūn zǎo dì kàn le yí biàn, méi jì zhù shén me.I skimmed through this article without understanding it and didn't remember anything.
Origin
Single-morpheme word构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair
Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.
囫hú
囵lún
囫 and 囵 have no meanings on their own; together they mean whole or muddled.
Sound-only characters
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