感叹 (gǎn tàn) — to sigh with emotion; to exclaim in admiration… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

感叹 covers BOTH sighing in regret AND exclaiming in admiration (see examples 1–3). Stronger/written vs 叹气 (just sighing), and broader than 惊叹 (admiration only). Near-synonym 感慨 overlaps but adds a tone of reflective feeling.

verb

to sigh with emotionto exclaim in admiration or regret

Examples

，感叹。
Kàn dào zǔ guó de biàn huà, tā gǎn tàn bù yǐ.
Seeing the changes in his homeland, he sighed with deep emotion.
感叹。
Yóu kè men fēn fēn gǎn tàn dà zì rán de zhuàng lì.
The tourists all exclaimed in admiration at the grandeur of nature.
感叹，。
Tā gǎn tàn shí guāng fēi shì, zhuǎn yǎn yǐ shì zhōng nián.
He lamented how time flies — in the blink of an eye he was already middle-aged.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

感gǎnfeeling

感 (feeling) and 叹 (sigh) stand together, expressing an emotional exclamation.

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.

咸心感

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

咸

咸xián感gǎn

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

感 pairs 咸, which gives the sound, with 心, the heart, for feeling.

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 嘆; 叹 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 叹 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 嘆; in others it is 歎.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

歎

歎tàn嘆tàn

Same sound today

The traditional form 嘆 pairs 口 (mouth) with 歎 as the sound part; it shows a mouth letting out a sigh.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Communication & Speech

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