自夸 (zì kuā) — to brag, to boast, to extol oneself

Definition

verb

to bragto boastto extol oneself

自夸。
Tā zǒng xǐ huan zài bié rén miàn qián zì kuā.
He always likes to boast in front of others.
自夸。
zì kuā Bìng bù néng ràng nǐ yíng dé zūn zhòng.
Bragging won't earn you respect.
自夸。
Tā zì kuā zì jǐ shì zuì cōng ming de xué shēng.
He boasts that he is the smartest student.

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.

自zìoneself

自 adds the sense of oneself to 夸, giving boasting about oneself.

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

于

于yú夸kuā

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

夸 is built from 大, a standing man, above 于, which gives the sound.

Appears in