炫耀 (xuàn yào) — to show off, to flaunt | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Highlights a quality, skill, or possession to impress others. 夸耀 emphasizes verbal bragging, while 标榜 often carries a negative sense of self-proclaimed ideals.

verb

to show offto flaunt

Examples

炫耀。
Tā xǐ huan zài shè jiāo méi tǐ shàng xuàn yào zì jǐ zuò de měi shí.
She likes to show off the food she makes on social media.
，炫耀。
Tā xué le yì nián de zhōng wén, jiù xǐ huan zài dà jiā miàn qián xuàn yào jǐ jù.
After studying Chinese for a year, he likes to show off a few sentences in front of everyone.
炫耀。
Tā zǒng shì xuàn yào zì jǐ rèn shi hěn duō míng rén.
He always shows off that he knows many famous people.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

炫 and 耀 both suggest dazzling light, so 炫耀 is to show off as if shining.

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.

火玄炫

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

玄

玄xuán炫xuàn

Same sound today

炫 is built from 火 and 玄. The 火 part is the meaning part, and 玄 gives the sound.

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

光翟耀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

光光guānglight; beam; ray

Sound part声符shēngfú

翟

翟zhái耀yào

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

耀 has 光 (light; beam; ray) beside 翟, and 翟 gives the sound.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Communication & Speech

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