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走红 (zǒu hóng) — to become popular, to become famous; to be successful, to have good fortune

Definition

Means to suddenly rise in popularity or success, often used for people, products, or companies catching on quickly. Note: this is an adjective, but it typically takes 了 to describe the change of state.

adjective
to become popularto become famousto be successfulto have good fortune

Examples

  • 走红。
    Tā yīn wèi yí bù diàn yǐng tū rán zǒu hóng le.
    She became popular overnight because of a movie.
  • 走红，。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī de chǎn pǐn zuì jìn zǒu hóng le, xiāo liàng dà zēng.
    This company's product has recently become successful; sales have surged.
  • 走红，。
    Tā zuì jìn zǒu hóng, mǎi le xīn fáng zi.
    He's been in luck recently; he bought a new house.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

走zǒugo
红hóngpopular

走 expresses moving into a state and 红 means popular, together becoming popular.

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.

Open 走 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 紅; 红 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìsilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng紅hóng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 紅 puts 糸 (silk) next to 工, which gives the sound; the simplified 红 is a later shorthand.

Open 红 →
Appears in
Success & Failure

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