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盛名 (shèng míng) — great reputation; prestigious fame

Definition

Literary noun meaning a 'great reputation' or 'immense fame.' Almost always appears in set phrases like 盛名之下 ('under the weight of fame') or 久负盛名 ('long renowned'), and sounds more formal than everyday 名声.

noun
great reputationprestigious fame

Examples

  • 盛名。
    Tā zài xué shù jiè xiǎng yǒu shèng míng.
    He enjoys a great reputation in academic circles.
  • 盛名。
    Zhè jiā fàn diàn yǐ pēng rèn hǎi xiān de shèng míng ér wén míng.
    This restaurant is famous for its great reputation in cooking seafood.
  • 盛名，。
    shèng míng Zhī xià, tā gèng gǎn dào zé rèn zhòng dà.
    Under the weight of his great reputation, he felt an even greater sense of responsibility.

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.

盛shènggreat
名míngreputation

盛 contributes 'great' and 名 'reputation', together meaning a great reputation.

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
皿皿mǐn
Sound part声符shēngfú
成
成chéng盛shèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

盛 combines 成 as a sound part with 皿 as a meaning part; the 皿 side points to a vessel, which fits meanings such as hold and fill.

Open 盛 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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