赫赫有名 (hè hè yǒu míng) — illustrious, far-famed, very famous

Definition

A formal idiom meaning 'illustrious / very famous', emphasizing a widely recognized reputation. Stronger than the plain 有名 and more literary than 著名.

idiom
illustriousfar-famedvery famous

Examples

  • 赫赫有名。
    Zhè wèi kē xué jiā zài shì jiè shàng hè hè yǒu míng.
    This scientist is world-famous.
  • 赫赫有名。
    Nà suǒ dà xué yǐ tā de yī xué yuàn hè hè yǒu míng.
    That university is famous for its medical school.
  • 赫赫有名，。
    Tā shì yí wèi hè hè yǒu míng de zuò jiā, zuò pǐn bèi fān yì chéng duō zhǒng yǔ yán.
    He is a renowned writer whose works have been translated into many languages.

Origin

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.

赫赫illustrious
赫hèillustrious赫hèillustrious
重叠Reduplication
有名famous
有yǒuhave名míngfame
动宾Verb + object

The vivid 赫赫, meaning illustrious or prominent, adds impressiveness to 有名, giving the sense of far-famed renown.

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.

赫 is made from two copies of the same part, and that part also gives its sound.

Open 赫 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

赫 is made from two copies of the same part, and that part also gives its sound.

Open 赫 →

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
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Open 名 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.