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碰巧 (pèng qiǎo) — by chance; by coincidence; to happen to

Definition

碰巧 means 'by coincidence / it happened that' — strongly emphasizes chance. Pairs more naturally with 恰好/恰巧 ('just right; by lucky coincidence') than with 正好, which leans toward 'conveniently / just in time'.

adverb
by chanceby coincidenceto happen to

Examples

  • 碰巧。
    Wǒ pèng qiǎo zài tú shū guǎn yù dào le tā.
    I happened to run into her at the library.
  • 碰巧。
    Tā pèng qiǎo zhī dào nà ge wèn tí de dá àn.
    He happens to know the answer to that question.
  • 碰巧。
    pèng qiǎo Nà tiān wǒ yě qù le nà jiā cān tīng.
    Coincidentally, I also went to that restaurant that day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

碰pèngbump into
巧qiǎocoincidental

碰巧 pairs 碰 'bump into' with 巧 'coincidental', as in bumping into something in a coincidental way.

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
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 →

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
工工gōng
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo巧qiǎo
Same sound today

巧 is made of 工 and 丂; 工 points to its meaning, and 丂 points to its sound.

Open 巧 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-95000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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