粗大 (cū dà) — thick (of cylindrical objects); bulky, large and heavy; loud and deep (of sound)

Definition

Adjective for physical size or volume: thick tree trunks, bulky luggage, or a loud deep voice. Pairs with concrete, often cylindrical or body-like things — not abstract 'big'.

adjective
thick (of cylindrical objects)bulkylarge and heavyloud and deep (of sound)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 粗大，。
    Nà kē shù de shù gàn fēi cháng cū dà, yí gè rén dōu bào bú zhù.
    The trunk of that tree is very thick — one person can't wrap their arms around it.
  • 粗大，。
    Zhè ge xíng li xiāng tài cū dà le, fàng bú jìn hòu bèi xiāng.
    This suitcase is too bulky to fit in the trunk.
  • 粗大，。
    Tā tū rán fā chū yī shēng cū dà de hǒu jiào, bǎ dà jiā dōu xià le yí tiào.
    He suddenly let out a loud, deep roar, scaring everyone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

粗cūthick
大dàlarge

'粗' means thick/coarse and '大' means large, together describing something bulky or loud and deep.

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě粗cū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粗 pairs 米 (rice), which points to its meaning, with 且, which gives a clue to its sound.

Open 粗 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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