抖搂 (dǒu lōu) — to shake out (contents or dust); to bring to light (secrets, facts); to squander (money, resources)

Definition

A colloquial verb with three distinct senses: physically shaking out (a coat, dust), exposing a secret, or squandering money. The literal 'shake out' sense is the base; the other two are figurative extensions used in everyday speech.

verb
to shake out (contents or dust)to bring to light (secrets, facts)to squander (money, resources)

Examples

  • 抖搂抖搂，。
    Tā bǎ dà yī dǒu lōu le dǒu lōu, xuě jiù diào xià lái le.
    She shook out her coat, and the snow fell off.
  • 抖搂，。
    Zhè jiàn shì qiān wàn bié dǒu lōu chū qù, fǒu zé dà jiā dōu bù hǎo guò.
    Don't ever let this matter come to light, or else everyone will be in trouble.
  • 抖搂。
    Tā bú dào yí gè yuè jiù bǎ jī xù dǒu lōu guāng le.
    He squandered all his savings in less than a month.

Origin

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 抖 →

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 摟; 搂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
婁
婁lóu摟lōu
Same sound today

The traditional form 摟 pairs 手 (hand) with 婁 as a sound component; the simplified 搂 is a shorthand.

Open 搂 →

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