袒 (tǎn) — to bare, to expose (part of the body); to favor unfairly, to take sides
Definition
Bound morpheme: never used alone. 袒露 means 'bare/expose (a body part)'; 偏袒 means 'favor one side unfairly'.
bound form
to bareto expose (part of the body)to favor unfairlyto take sides
Easily confused
- 担dānlook-aliketo undertake, to shoulder, to bear (responsibility, risk, etc.)
- 毯tǎnsound-alike(bound form) blanket, carpet, rug
- 褐hèlook-alike(biology, geology, etc.) brown (used in compounds such as 褐色, 褐煤, 褐铁矿)
- 妲dálook-alikefemale personal name (archaic)
- 坦tǎnlook-alike(bound form) flat, level
- 但dànlook-alikebut, yet, however (conjunction indicating contrast)
Examples
- ，。Tā tǎn lù le jiān bǎng, ràng dà jiā kàn tā de shāng kǒu.He bared his shoulder to let everyone see his wound.
- ，。Cái pàn piān tǎn zhǔ duì, yǐn qǐ le guān zhòng de bù mǎn.The referee favored the home team unfairly, causing dissatisfaction among the audience.
- ，。Zuò wéi fǎ guān, nǐ bù néng piān tǎn rèn hé yī fāng.As a judge, you must not favor either side unfairly.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
袒 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 旦, which gives the sound.
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