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懒虫 (lǎn chóng) — (colloquial) lazybones, lazy person

Definition

A colloquial, mildly teasing way to call someone a 'lazybones' — more playful and scolding than plain 懒. Usually used to scold a person (or pet) in a familiar, joking tone.

noun
(colloquial) lazyboneslazy person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，懒虫！
    Kuài qǐ chuáng, nǐ zhè ge lǎn chóng!
    Get up, you lazybones!
  • 懒虫，。
    Wǒ jiā nà zhī māo shì gè dà lǎn chóng, zhěng tiān shuì jiào.
    That cat of mine is a real lazybones — it sleeps all day.
  • 懒虫，。
    Bié dāng lǎn chóng le, gēn wǒ yì qǐ pǎo bù ba.
    Stop being a lazybones and go jogging with me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

懒lǎnlazy
虫chóngworm

"懒" means lazy and "虫" means worm, so a lazy worm is a playful name for a lazy person.

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 懶; 懒 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
賴
賴lài懶lǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 懶 pairs 忄 (heart) with 賴, which gives the sound; the simplified 懒 is a later shorthand.

Open 懒 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蟲; 虫 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 蟲 is the one the reference discusses; 虫 is also a traditional character on its own.

Open 虫 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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