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大气 (dà qì) — (noun) atmosphere (of a planet or celestial body); (adjective) imposing, impressive, stylish, generous (of style or character)

Definition

Two senses: the noun 'atmosphere' (of a planet, as in 火星的大气) and the adjective 'generous / stylish / imposing' for a person's character or style. Compared with 大方, it leans more toward style and bearing than spending money.

noun
atmosphere (of a planet or celestial body)
adjective
imposingimpressivestylishgenerous (of style or character)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 大气。
    Kē xué jiā zhèng zài yán jiū huǒ xīng de dà qì chéng fèn.
    Scientists are studying the composition of the Martian atmosphere.
  • 大气，。
    Tā zuò shì hěn dà qì, cóng lái bù jīn jīn jì jiào.
    She handles things with a generous attitude; she never nitpicks.
  • ，大气。
    Zhè fú huà xiàn tiáo jiǎn jié, zhěng tǐ gǎn jué fēi cháng dà qì.
    This painting has clean lines and feels very stylish overall.

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
气qìair

大 broadens 气, giving atmosphere or a broad, stylish air.

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 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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & TraitsWeather

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