胜过 (shèng guò) — to surpass, to excel (over someone) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

胜过 means 'to surpass, to be better than' — stronger than 超过, which can mean merely 'to exceed' a number or limit. Use 胜过 when one thing genuinely outshines another.

verb

to surpassto excel (over someone)

Examples

胜过。
Tā de chéng jì shèng guò le bān shàng suǒ yǒu rén.
His grades surpassed everyone in the class.
，。
Zài shù xué fāng miàn, wǒ shèng bú guò tā.
In math, I cannot surpass him.
胜过。
Méi yǒu rén néng shèng guò tā de cái huá.
No one can surpass his talent.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

“胜” means to win or excel, and “过” adds “over,” so the word means to surpass.

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ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

生

生shēng胜shèng

Same sound today

The simplified 胜 changes the traditional 勝 by replacing part of its sound side with 生; the left 肉 relates to meat.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi過guò

Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Appears in

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