搔痒 (sāo yǎng) — to scratch an itch | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid verb meaning 'to scratch an itch.' The object 痒 can often be dropped when the context is clear (e.g. 他在搔一下).

verb

to scratch an itch

Examples

，搔痒。
Tā bèi shàng yǎng dé lì hài, yì zhí zài sāo yǎng.
His back itches badly, and he keeps scratching it.
，。
Māo sāo le jǐ xià yǎng, rán hòu pā xià shuì jiào le.
The cat scratched its itch a few times, then lay down to sleep.
搔痒，。
Bié yì zhí sāo yǎng, huì bǎ pí fū nòng pò de.
Don't keep scratching that itch — you'll break the skin.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

搔sāoscratch

搔 means scratch and 痒 means itch, so the action is directed at the itch.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

蚤

蚤zǎo搔sāo

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part is 手 (hand), showing the action is done with a hand. The right part is 蚤 (flea, louse), which gives the character its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

疒羊痒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

疒疒nèillness

Sound part声符shēngfú

羊

羊yáng痒yǎng

Same sound today

痒 is built from 疒, showing illness, and 羊, which gives its sound.

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