胖胖 (pàng pàng) — (adjective, reduplicative) chubby, plump (affec…

Definition

A reduplicated, affectionate form of 胖 (pàng), meaning 'chubby' — used for cute things like babies, pets, or animals to sound warm and endearing rather than critical.

adjective

(adjective, reduplicative) chubbyplump (affectionate)

Examples

胖胖，。
Zhè ge xiǎo hái r cháng dé pàng pàng de, hěn kě ài.
This child is chubby and very cute.
胖胖。
Tā yǎng le yì zhī pàng pàng de xiǎo māo.
He keeps a chubby little cat.
，胖胖，。
Nǐ kàn nà zhī xióng māo, zǒu qǐ lù lái pàng pàng de, zhēn yǒu yì si.
Look at that panda — it's waddling around all chubby, so funny.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

胖pàngchubby

胖 repeated gives an affectionate sense of chubby or plump.

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

肉肉ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

半bàn胖pán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胖 pairs 肉, which relates to flesh or the body, with 半, which gives a clue to the sound.

Open 胖 →