相碰 (xiāng pèng) — to collide, to run into each other

Definition

verb
to collideto run into each other

Examples

  • 相碰。
    Liǎng liàng chē zài shí zì lù kǒu xiāng pèng le.
    Two cars collided at the intersection.
  • 相碰。
    Tā men de jiān bǎng qīng qīng xiāng pèng le yí xià.
    Their shoulders lightly bumped into each other.
  • 相碰，。
    Gāo sù gōng lù shàng duō chē xiāng pèng, dǎo zhì yán zhòng yōng dǔ.
    Multiple vehicles collided on the expressway, causing severe congestion.

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.

相xiāngmutual
碰pèngbump

相 means mutual and 碰 means bump, giving collide with each other.

Characters in this word

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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
石石shírock
Sound part声符shēngfú
並
並bìng碰pèng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

碰 is built from 石 (rock) and 並 (bìng); 石 shows the meaning, and 並 shows the sound.

Open 碰 →

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