楚楚 (chǔ chǔ) — (in fixed phrases) delicately beautiful, touchi…

Definition

楚楚 is a bound literary word used only inside set phrases: 楚楚动人 / 楚楚可怜 (pitifully charming) and 衣冠楚楚 (immaculately dressed). It never stands alone and carries a vivid, slightly emotive tone.

bound form

(in fixed phrases) delicately beautifultouchingor pitifully cute (as in 楚楚动人, 楚楚可怜)(in fixed phrases) neatly dressedelegant (as in 衣冠楚楚)

Examples

，。
Tā zhàn zài wǔ tái shàng, xiǎn de chǔ chǔ dòng rén.
She stood on stage, looking delicately beautiful and moving.
楚楚，。
Nà ge xiǎo nǚ hái yì liǎn chǔ chǔ kě lián de yàng zi, ràng rén xīn téng.
That little girl looked so pitifully cute, it tugged at your heartstrings.
，。
Miàn shì shí tā yī guān chǔ chǔ, gěi rén liú xià hǎo yìn xiàng.
At the interview he was immaculately dressed, leaving a good impression.

Origin

Single-morpheme word

构词法gòucífǎ

叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

楚chǔ

The repeated 楚楚 gives a delicate, neat, or touching look; each 楚 alone carries no separate meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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

林疋楚

Meaning part形符xíngfú

林林línforest; grove; woods

Sound part声符shēngfú

疋

疋pǐ楚chǔ

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

The old form combined 林 (forest) with a part like a footprint, perhaps pointing to a place with a group of trees. In 楚, the lower part is written as 疋, which gives the sound and preserves part of that drawing.

Open 楚 →