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繁华 (fán huá) — bustling, prosperous, flourishing

Definition

Describes a place (street, city) as prosperous and bustling, usually from its lively commerce and activity. Compared with 繁荣, it emphasizes the scene and atmosphere rather than economic growth.

adjective
bustlingprosperousflourishing

Examples

  • 繁华。
    Shàng hǎi de nán jīng lù shì yì tiáo fán huá de shāng yè jiē.
    Nanjing Road in Shanghai is a bustling commercial street.
  • 繁华。
    Zhè zuò chéng shì de lǎo chéng qū zài jié rì lǐ gé wài fán huá.
    The old town of this city is especially bustling during festivals.
  • 繁华，，。
    Yè shì fán huá, rén cháo yǒng dòng, hěn yǒu huó lì.
    The night market is bustling, with surging crowds, full of vitality.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

繁fánflourishing
华huásplendor

繁 suggests flourishing abundance and 华 suggests splendor; together they describe a bustling, prosperous scene.

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
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
敏
敏mǐn繁fán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

繁 pairs 敏, a sound part, with 糸, meaning silk.

Open 繁 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 華; 华 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 華 showed flowers on a plant, with stalk and leaves below. The simplified 华 is a later shorthand and not the original picture.

Open 华 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6City & UrbanEconomy & Trade

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