横溢 (héng yì) — (of a river) to overflow; to flood; (of talent, enthusiasm, etc.) to brim with; to be abundant

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'to brim with / overflow' — almost always used figuratively for talent (才华横溢) or passion (激情横溢), not for literal flooding. Pairs only with abstract nouns.

verb
(of a river) to overflowto flood(of talent, enthusiasm, etc.) to brim withto be abundant

Examples

  • ，横溢，。
    Bào yǔ guò hòu, hé shuǐ héng yì, yān mò le yán àn de cūn zhuāng.
    After the heavy rain, the river overflowed and flooded the villages along the bank.
  • ，。
    Tā cái huá héng yì, xiě chū de měi yì shǒu shī dōu lìng rén jīng tàn.
    He is brimming with talent; every poem he writes is amazing.
  • 横溢，。
    Zhè wèi huà jiā jī qíng héng yì, yòng dà dǎn de sè cǎi biǎo dá nèi xīn de qíng gǎn.
    This painter's passion overflows; he uses bold colors to express his inner feelings.

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.

横héngsideways
溢yìoverflow

横 suggests spreading sideways, while 溢 means flowing over, so together they describe overflowing.

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 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →

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

溢 is built from 氵, water, and 益, to increase, so it shows water rising and spilling over its edge.

Open 溢 →

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