怦怦 (pēng pēng) — (onomatopoeia) thump-thump, pit-a-pat (sound of…

Definition

Onomatopoeia for the rapid 'thump-thump' of a heartbeat, almost always used with 心 (心怦怦跳) to show excitement, nervousness, or anticipation.

onomatopoeia

thump-thumppit-a-pat (sound of a heartbeat)(extended meaning) racing heart from excitementanxietyor anticipation

Easily confused

，怦怦。
Tīng dào tā de shēng yīn, wǒ de xīn jiù kāi shǐ pēng pēng dì tiào.
As soon as I heard his voice, my heart started going pit-a-pat.
，怦怦。
Zhàn zài lǐng jiǎng tái shàng, tā jǐn zhāng dé xīn lǐ pēng pēng zhí tiào.
Standing on the award podium, she was so nervous her heart thumped away.
，怦怦，。
Tā tōu tōu kàn le tā yì yǎn, xīn lǐ pēng pēng de, chōng mǎn le qī dài.
He stole a glance at her; his heart was pounding with anticipation.

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

The 怦怦 rhythm imitates a heartbeat's thump-thump.

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

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

平

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