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大团圆 (dà tuán yuán) — happy ending; reunion (of all parties involved, esp. in literature or family gatherings)

Definition

A 'happy ending' or full reunion — the cliché convention in Chinese fiction and film where all sides are reconciled and the family gathers. Used as a noun or modifier (大团圆结局).

noun
happy endingreunion (of all parties involved, esp. in literature or family gatherings)

Examples

  • 大团圆。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō yǒu yí gè dà tuán yuán jié jú.
    This novel has a happy ending.
  • ，大团圆。
    Chūn jié quán jiā tuán jù, zhēn shì dà tuán yuán.
    The whole family reunites for Spring Festival — it's a true reunion.
  • 大团圆。
    Hěn duō guān zhòng xǐ huan dà tuán yuán de diàn yǐng.
    Many viewers like movies with a happy ending.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

大dàgreat
团圆reunion
团tuángather圆yuáncomplete
联合Coordinate

大 means great or complete and 团圆 means reunion; together they denote a full happy reunion.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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 團; 团 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
專
專zhuān團tuán
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The form 團 combines 囗 as a meaning part with 專 as a sound part; the story is about 團, not about 团.

Open 团 →

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 圓; 圆 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéi
Sound part声符shēngfú
員
員yuán圓yuán
Same sound today

This is about the traditional form 圓, not the simplified 圆. In 圓, 囗 surrounds 員, and the inner part of 員 is an old circle picture.

Open 圆 →
Appears in
Literature & Poetry

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