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狂欢 (kuáng huān) — to revel, to carouse, to have a wild celebration

Definition

狂欢 is an intense, unrestrained celebration — wilder than 聚会 (a normal gathering) or 联欢 (a planned joint event). Often paired with 庆祝 or a duration phrase.

verb
to revelto carouseto have a wild celebration

Examples

  • 狂欢，。
    Tā men zhěng wǎn dōu zài kuáng huān, zhí dào tiān liàng.
    They partied wildly all night until dawn.
  • ，狂欢。
    Chūn jié shí, rén men jù jí zài yì qǐ kuáng huān qìng zhù.
    During Spring Festival, people gather to revel and celebrate.
  • 狂欢。
    Zuó wǎn wǒ men kuáng huān dào líng chén sān diǎn.
    Last night we partied wildly until 3 a.m.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

狂kuángwild
欢huānrejoicing

狂, wild, and 欢, rejoicing, together give the sense of celebrating wildly.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歡; 欢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn歡huān
Same sound today

The traditional form 歡 uses 雚 for the sound and 欠 for the meaning; the simplified 欢 is a later shorthand, so its parts do not carry that history.

Open 欢 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Festivals & Holidays5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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