滚滚 (gǔn gǔn) — rolling; billowing; surging; in waves

Definition

A vivid bound form used after nouns to describe things rolling, billowing, or surging forward — especially clouds, smoke, or large bodies of water in motion. Often paired with 而来 ('rolling in') or 东流 ('flowing eastward') for a literary, grand effect.

bound form

rollingbillowingsurgingin waves

Examples

滚滚，。
Wū yún gǔn gǔn ér lái, yào xià yǔ le.
Dark clouds are rolling in; it's going to rain.
滚滚，礴。
Dà jiāng gǔn gǔn dōng liú, qì shì páng bó.
The great river rolls eastward with majestic momentum.
滚滚，。
Zhàn chǎng shàng xiāo yān gǔn gǔn, yí piàn hùn luàn.
On the battlefield, smoke billowed and chaos reigned.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

滚gǔnroll

The two 滚 together give a rolling, surging quality.

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 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 →