行色匆匆 (xíng sè cōng cōng) — to be in a hurry to set out; hasty departure (f…

Definition

Literary idiom for someone hurrying on their way — literally “traveling manner hurried.” Used in writing or narrative to depict a hasty departure, not everyday speech.

idiom

to be in a hurry to set outhasty departure (formal/literary)

Examples

行色匆匆，。
Tā yí fù xíng sè cōng cōng de yàng zi, kàn lái shì yào gǎn fēi jī.
He looked like he was in a hurry to set out, as if he needed to catch a plane.
，行色匆匆，。
Huǒ chē zhàn lǐ, lǚ kè men xíng sè cōng cōng, fēn fēn gǎn wǎng jiǎn piào kǒu.
At the train station, the passengers were in a hurry to leave, all rushing to the ticket gates.
行色匆匆、。
Zhè ge chǎng jǐng miáo huì le gǔ dài guān yuán xíng sè cōng cōng, lí jiā fù rèn de huà miàn.
This scene depicts an ancient official hurrying to set out, leaving home to take up his post.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

彳亍行

彳彳chì
亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

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

爪爪zhuǎclaw; hand
卩卩jiékneeling person

色 pairs 爪 (a hand) with 卩 (a kneeling person), showing a hand pressing down on the kneeling person.

Open 色 →

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

心心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

囪

囪cōng匆cōng

Same sound today

The current 匆 comes from a form that paired 囪 for sound with 心 for meaning; the 心 part was dropped, and part of 囪 was left out.

Open 匆 →