浅薄 (qiǎn bó) — shallow, superficial (of knowledge, thinking, o…

Definition

adjective

shallowsuperficial (of knowledge, thinking, or character)

浅薄，。
Tā de guān diǎn fēi cháng qiǎn bó, méi yǒu shēn dù.
His views are very superficial, lacking depth.
浅薄，。
Zhè piān lùn wén nèi róng qiǎn bó, bù zhí dé fā biǎo.
This paper's content is shallow and not worth publishing.
，浅薄，。
Tā suī rán wài biǎo měi lì, dàn xìng gé qiǎn bó, nán yǐ shēn jiāo.
Although she is beautiful on the outside, her personality is superficial, making it hard to form deep friendships.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

浅 and 薄 both suggest thinness or lack of depth, together describing superficial knowledge or character.

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 淺; 浅 is its simplified writing.

氵戔淺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

戔

戔jiān淺qiǎn

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

The traditional form 淺 pairs 氵 (water) with 戔 to give the sound; 浅 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

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

艹溥薄

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

溥

溥pǔ薄báo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

薄 combines 艹, a grass part, with 溥 as the sound part.

Appears in