悠悠 (yōu yōu) — long-drawn-out; remote (of time or space); leis…

Definition

悠悠 (yōuyōu) is a literary reduplicated bound form: 'long-drawn-out' for time/distance (悠悠岁月) and 'leisurely, unhurried' for mood (悠悠地散步). It only appears as a modifier before a noun or after 地 — never as a standalone predicate.

bound form

long-drawn-outremote (of time or space)leisurelyunhurried (of mood or manner)

Examples

悠悠，。
yōu yōu Suì yuè, zhuǎn yǎn jiù guò qù le.
The long years passed in the blink of an eye.
，悠悠。
Tā xǐ huan zài hé biān sàn bù, xiǎng shòu yōu yōu de shí guāng.
He likes to walk by the river and enjoy leisurely time.
悠悠，。
Yuǎn shān yōu yōu, yún wù liáo rào.
The distant mountains stretch far, shrouded in mist and clouds.

Origin

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.

悠yōulong; leisurely

The 悠 doubled stretches the sense of long, remote, or leisurely.

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.

攸心悠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart; mind

Sound part声符shēngfú

攸

攸yōu悠yōu

Same sound today

悠 pairs 攸, which gives the sound, with 心, meaning heart or mind.

Open 悠 →