弯曲 (wān qū) — curved, winding, crooked | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An adjective describing a shape that's curved or winding (a road, line, spine). Like 歪, it means not straight, but 弯曲 is natural-shaped and neutral, while 歪 implies something tilted wrong or askew.

adjective

curvedwindingcrooked

Examples

弯曲。
Zhè tiáo wān qū de xiǎo lù chuān guò sēn lín.
This winding path goes through the forest.
弯曲，。
Tā de jǐ zhuī yǒu diǎn wān qū, xū yào zuò jiǎn chá.
His spine is a bit curved; he needs to get it checked.
弯曲。
Tā zài zhǐ shàng huà le yì tiáo wān qū de xiàn.
She drew a curved line on the paper.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

曲qǔcrooked

Both 弯 and 曲 mean bent or crooked, so together they describe something curved.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 彎; 弯 is its simplified writing.

弓䜌彎

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

䜌

䜌䜌彎wān

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

The traditional form 彎 pairs 弓 (bow) with 䜌 as a sound part; the simplified 弯 is a later shorthand.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

曲 is drawn as a bent object, matching the meaning 'bend'.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Shapes

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