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清淡 (qīng dàn) — (of food) light, not greasy or strong in flavor; (of taste) bland, insipid; (of business) slack, slow

Definition

清淡 means 'light/bland' — used for food with mild flavor, and by extension for business that is slow. Compared to 淡 alone, 清淡 focuses on the whole impression of a meal or period being light and not heavy.

adjective
(of food) lightnot greasy or strong in flavor(of taste) blandinsipid(of business) slackslow

Examples

  • 清淡。
    Zuì jìn diàn lǐ de shēng yì hěn qīng dàn.
    Business in the store has been slack lately.
  • 清淡。
    Xià tiān wǒ cháng chī qīng dàn de shí wù.
    In summer I often eat light food.
  • 清淡。
    Zhè ge cài wèi dào tài qīng dàn le.
    This dish tastes too bland.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

清qīnglight
淡dànbland

清 and 淡 both convey lightness or blandness, as in light food or slack business.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
青
青qīng清qīng
Same sound today

清 has 氵 (water) on the left and 青 on the right to show its sound.

Open 清 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
炎
炎yán淡dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

淡 puts 氵 (water) beside 炎, which gives the sound yán.

Open 淡 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Flavors & Seasonings

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