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抚平 (fǔ píng) — to soothe, to calm (emotions, worries); to smooth out (wrinkles, creases)

Definition

抚平 pairs with emotions/wounds and with physical surfaces like wrinkles — literally 'soothe or smooth flat'. The sibling 平息 (xī) is a near-synonym for the emotional sense (平息怒火), but 抚平 is more physical or gentle.

verb
to sootheto calm (emotions, worries)to smooth out (wrinkles, creases)

Examples

  • 抚平。
    Tā de huà fǔ píng le wǒ de qíng xù.
    His words soothed my emotions.
  • 抚平。
    Tā fǔ píng le chuáng dān.
    He smoothed the bedsheet.
  • 抚平。
    Shí jiān màn màn fǔ píng le xīn zhōng de shāng tòng.
    Time slowly soothed the pain in the heart.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

抚fǔstroke/soothe
平píngflat/smooth

抚 “stroke/soothe” and 平 “flat/smooth” combine to mean make smooth or calm.

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 撫; 抚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú撫fǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 撫 pairs 手 (hand) with 無 for the sound; the simplified 抚 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 抚 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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