夸耀 (kuā yào) — to brag about, to flaunt | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

夸耀 is to boast about or flaunt something you have, usually negatively judged. Compared to 炫耀, it emphasizes the act of bragging; 标榜 frames it as 'advertising/claiming' a stance.

verb

to brag aboutto flaunt

Examples

夸耀。
Tā zǒng zài péng you miàn qián kuā yào zì jǐ xīn mǎi de fáng zi.
He always brags about his newly bought house in front of friends.
夸耀，。
Tā cóng bù kuā yào zì jǐ de chéng jì, dà jiā dōu hěn pèi fú tā.
She never flaunts her achievements, so everyone admires her.
夸耀，。
Nǐ bú bì kuā yào nà xiē xiǎo shì, méi yǒu rén huì zài yì.
You don't need to flaunt those trivial things; no one cares.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

夸 means to boast and 耀 means to show off; together they mean to brag.

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

大大dàman

Sound part声符shēngfú

于

于yú夸kuā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

夸 is built from 大, a standing man, above 于, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

光翟耀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

光光guānglight; beam; ray

Sound part声符shēngfú

翟

翟zhái耀yào

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耀 has 光 (light; beam; ray) beside 翟, and 翟 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Communication & Speech

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