水灵 (shuǐ líng) — (of fruit, vegetables) fresh and juicy; (of a person's appearance) bright and beautiful, radiant and vivacious

Definition

Used for produce that is fresh and juicy, and for a person (especially a woman or child) whose looks are bright and lively — more vivid and lively than 好看, which is just 'good-looking'.

adjective
(of fruit, vegetables) fresh and juicy(of a person's appearance) bright and beautifulradiant and vivacious

Examples

  • 水灵。
    Zhè xiē pú tao kàn qǐ lái zhēn shuǐ líng.
    These grapes look really fresh and juicy.
  • 水灵。
    Nà ge nǚ hái cháng dé hěn shuǐ líng.
    That girl looks very bright and beautiful.
  • 水灵。
    Gāng zhāi de huáng guā tè bié shuǐ líng.
    The cucumbers just picked are especially fresh and juicy.

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.

水shuǐwater
灵línglively

水 suggests moisture and 灵 suggests lively brightness, giving fresh, juicy, or radiant.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →

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 靈; 灵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
玉玉yùjade
Sound part声符shēngfú
霝
霝líng靈líng
Same sound today

This note describes the traditional form 靈, not the simplified 灵: 霝 gives the sound, and 玉 (jade) is the meaning part.

Open 灵 →

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