肚量 (dù liàng) — tolerance, magnanimity, breadth of mind

Definition

Refers to a person's capacity to tolerate others' faults or criticism. Colloquial and concrete in tone, often used as 有肚量 or 肚量大.

noun

tolerancemagnanimitybreadth of mind

Easily confused

肚量，。
Tā dù liàng hěn dà, cóng bú jì jiào xiǎo shì.
He is very tolerant and never fusses over small things.
肚量，。
Zuò rén yào yǒu dù liàng, cái néng yíng dé zūn zhòng.
One should have magnanimity to earn respect.
，肚量。
Zuò wéi lǐng dǎo, dù liàng bǐ néng lì gèng zhòng yào.
As a leader, tolerance is more important than ability.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

肚 means belly and 量 means capacity; the phrase pictures a belly that can hold much, so it denotes tolerance.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side ⺼ is 肉 (flesh), marking body parts like belly; the right side 土 gives the pronunciation.

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

量 has 日 (sun) over 東 (bag; east). Some explanations suggest measuring under the sun or the sun rising in the east, but the exact origin is unclear.