漫漫 (màn màn) — (adjective) very long, boundless (in time or sp…

Definition

A bound literary adjective meaning 'long and boundless' (time or space), as in 漫漫长夜, and 'carefree, unrestrained' for a life or mood. Almost always written, rarely used in speech.

adjective

very longboundless (in time or space)carefreeunrestrained (of life, temperament)

Examples

漫漫，。
màn màn Cháng yè, nán yǐ rù mián.
The long endless night makes it hard to fall asleep.
漫漫，。
Dà mò màn màn, yí wàng wú jì.
The vast desert stretches beyond the horizon.
漫漫，。
Tā guò zhe màn màn de shēng huó, wú yōu wú lǜ.
He lives a carefree life without worries.

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.

漫mànboundless

漫 suggests boundless, and another 漫 stresses endless length.

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.

氵曼漫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

曼

曼màn漫

Same sound today

漫 uses 氵 (water) and 曼 for the sound; 曼 also means “vast, extended,” showing water spread out or overflowing.

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