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穿越 (chuān yuè) — to cross; to traverse; to pass through (spatially); to time-travel; to travel back in time (often with 到)

Definition

穿越 emphasizes going all the way through or across (time or space); 穿过 is plain physical passage through a barrier, while 跨越 focuses on leaping over an obstacle or boundary.

verb
to crossto traverseto pass through (spatially)to time-travelto travel back in time (often with 到)

Examples

  • 穿越。
    Tā chéng gōng dì chuān yuè le zhè piàn yuán shǐ sēn lín.
    He successfully traversed this primeval forest.
  • 穿越。
    Hěn duō xiàn dài rén dōu xiǎng chuān yuè dào táng cháo qù kàn kàn.
    Many modern people want to time-travel to the Tang Dynasty to have a look.
  • 穿越。
    Zhǔ jué yōng yǒu chuān yuè píng xíng yǔ zhòu de néng lì.
    The protagonist has the ability to traverse parallel universes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

穿chuānpass through
越yuècross

The meanings of 穿 and 越 both involve moving across, together giving the sense of traversing.

Characters in this word

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

穿 puts 穴 (cave) and 牙 (tooth) together to show passing through or penetrating.

Open 穿 →

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
走走zǒuto walk or run
Sound part声符shēngfú
戉
戉yuè越yuè
Same sound today

越 is built from 走 (to walk or run) and 戉 (which supplies the sound); the 走 part shows the idea of going over or crossing.

Open 越 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Travel & Tourism5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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