翻阅 (fān yuè) — to browse, to leaf through, to glance over (a b… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

翻阅 (fānyuè) means flipping or leafing through reading material — usually papers, files, or a magazine — without reading closely. Compared with the broader 阅读 (read), 翻阅 is lighter and more cursory.

verb

to browseto leaf throughto glance over (a book, magazine, document, etc.)

Examples

翻阅。
Tā zhèng zài bàn gōng shì fān yuè wén jiàn.
He is browsing through files in the office.
翻阅。
Wǒ huā le yí gè xiǎo shí fān yuè nà běn xiàng cè.
I spent an hour flipping through that photo album.
翻阅。
Tā xǐ huan zài shuì qián fān yuè yí huì r shū.
She likes to browse a book for a while before bed.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

翻, turning pages, and 阅, reading, combine to mean browse through a text.

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.

番羽翻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

羽羽yǔwings

Sound part声符shēngfú

番

番fān翻fān

Same sound today

翻 pairs 羽 (wings) with 番, which gives the sound. The shape shows something fluttering.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閱; 阅 is its simplified writing.

門兌閱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

門門mén

Sound part声符shēngfú

兌

兌duì閱yuè

Same sound today

The traditional form 閱 pairs 門, a gate, with 兌, a part that gives the sound; the simplified 阅 is a shorthand.

Appears in

Reading & Writing

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