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猩猩 (xīng xing) — orangutan; (slang) a dialect speaker whose speech is heavily influenced by Standard Mandarin

Definition

猩猩 literally names the orangutan — a large red-haired ape found in Southeast Asian forests. In Chinese slang it also teases a dialect speaker whose Mandarin carries a strong local accent (from the ape's guttural sounds).

noun
orangutan(slang) a dialect speaker whose speech is heavily influenced by Standard Mandarin
Measure word · 只
Easily confused

Examples

  • 猩猩。
    Wǒ zài dòng wù yuán kàn dào le sān zhī xīng xing.
    I saw three orangutans at the zoo.
  • 猩猩，。
    xīng xing Xǐ huan chī shuǐ guǒ, yóu qí shì xiāng jiāo.
    Orangutans like to eat fruit, especially bananas.
  • ，“猩猩”。
    Tā shuō pǔ tōng huà de shí hou zǒng shì dài zhe fāng yán kǒu yīn, péng you men jiào tā "xīng xing".
    When he speaks Mandarin, he always has a dialect accent, so his friends call him "orangutan" (slang for dialect speaker).

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

猩xīng
猩xīng

The two 猩 characters carry no meaning of their own here; together they name the animal.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 猩 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 猩 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Animals & Mammals

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