走神 (zǒu shén) — to be absent-minded, to have one's mind wander | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

走神 (zǒu shén) means to lose focus and have your mind drift — usually briefly, in the middle of something. Splittable: 走了一下神, 走了会儿神.

verb

to be absent-mindedto have one's mind wander

Examples

走神。
Tā shàng kè de shí hou jīng cháng zǒu shén.
He often spaces out during class.
，。
Wǒ gāng cái zǒu le shén, méi tīng qīng nǐ shuō shén me.
I just spaced out and didn't catch what you said.
走神，。
Kǎo shì shí qiān wàn bié zǒu shén, bù rán huì zuò cuò tí.
Don't space out during the exam, or you'll make mistakes on the questions.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

走 means to wander or move away, and 神 refers to the mind or attention, together describing absent-mindedness.

Characters in this word

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

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

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

示示shìgod; deity

Sound part声符shēngfú

申

申shēn神shén

Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Appears in

Thinking & Cognition

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