狂妄 (kuáng wàng) — wildly arrogant, presumptuous

Definition

adjective
wildly arrogantpresumptuous

Examples

  • 狂妄,。
    Tā shuō huà de yǔ qì fēi cháng kuáng wàng, ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
    His tone of speech is wildly arrogant, making people very uncomfortable.
  • 狂妄,。
    Nà ge gōng sī de xīn rèn zǒng cái xìng gé kuáng wàng, jī hū dé zuì le suǒ yǒu yuán gōng.
    That company's new president has a wildly arrogant personality and has offended almost all employees.
  • 狂妄,。
    Tā yīn wèi kuáng wàng de tài dù, zài tuán duì zhōng hěn nán hé zuò.
    Because of his arrogant attitude, he is difficult to work with in the team.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

妄wàngpresumptuous

狂 and 妄 both express overstepping bounds, together describing presumptuous arrogance.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →

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
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
亡
亡wáng妄wàng
Same sound today

妄 combines 亡, which supplies the sound, with 女, a woman.

Open 妄 →

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