碰碰 (pèng pèng) — to try one's luck; to give it a shot (used in 碰…

Definition

碰碰 is a reduplicated verb meaning 'bump gently' or 'touch lightly'. In 碰碰运气 it means 'try one's luck' — the light touch image suggests taking a casual chance.

verb

to try one's luckto give it a shot (used in 碰碰运气)(reduplicated verb) to bump gentlyto touch lightly

Examples

碰碰，。
Wǒ dǎ suàn pèng pèng yùn qì, mǎi zhāng cǎi piào.
I plan to try my luck and buy a lottery ticket.
碰碰，。
Tā yòng gē bo pèng pèng wǒ de jiān bǎng, xiǎng yǐn qǐ wǒ de zhù yì.
He gently bumped my shoulder with his arm, trying to get my attention.
碰碰，。
Nǐ bù fáng qù pèng pèng yùn qì, shuō bú dìng néng chéng gōng.
You might as well try your luck; maybe you'll succeed.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

碰pèngbump

碰碰 puts two 碰 together to suggest a light, brief bump or tentative try.

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.

石並碰

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 →