浓烟滚滚 (nóng yān gǔn gǔn) — (chengyu) billows of thick smoke; smoke rolling in dense clouds

Definition

A vivid chengyu describing thick smoke rising and swirling in dense clouds, typically from fire or heavy pollution. The repetition of 滚滚 emphasizes continuous, rolling motion.

idiom
(chengyu) billows of thick smokesmoke rolling in dense clouds

Examples

  • ，浓烟滚滚，。
    Dà lóu qǐ huǒ, nóng yān gǔn gǔn, jǐ gōng lǐ wài dōu néng kàn jiàn.
    The building caught fire, and thick smoke billowed, visible from several kilometers away.
  • 浓烟滚滚，。
    Gōng chǎng mào chū de nóng yān gǔn gǔn, ràng zhōu wéi jū mín shí fēn dān xīn.
    The thick smoke billowing from the factory made nearby residents very worried.
  • 浓烟滚滚，。
    Xiāo fáng yuán chōng jìn nóng yān gǔn gǔn zhī zhōng, jiù chū le bèi kùn de hái zi.
    The firefighters rushed into the billowing thick smoke and rescued the trapped child.

Origin

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 濃; 浓 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
農
農nóng濃nóng
Same sound today

The traditional form 濃 has 氵 as water and 農 as the sound part; this is the form described here.

Open 浓 →

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 煙; 烟 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 烟 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (烟) it is 煙; in others it is 菸.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
垔
垔yīn煙yān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

This story is about the traditional form 煙, not the simplified 烟. It pairs 火, fire, with 垔, which gives the sound.

Open 烟 →

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 滾; 滚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
袞
袞gǔn滾gǔn
Same sound today

The traditional form 滾 pairs 水 (water) with 袞, which supplies the pronunciation. The simplified 滚 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 袞.

Open 滚 →

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 滾; 滚 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
袞
袞gǔn滾gǔn
Same sound today

The traditional form 滾 pairs 水 (water) with 袞, which supplies the pronunciation. The simplified 滚 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical 袞.

Open 滚 →

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