过分 (guò fèn) — excessive, over the top, going too far | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used for behavior, words, or demands that go too far — often about people crossing a social line. Colloquial tone; stronger than 过度 (more neutral/factual) and more about conduct than 过头 (a post-verb complement).

adjective

excessiveover the topgoing too far

Examples

过分，。
Tā de yāo qiú tài guò fèn le, méi rén néng jiē shòu.
His demands are too excessive; nobody can accept them.
过分，。
Nǐ zhè yàng shuō yǒu diǎn guò fèn, kuài dào qiàn ba.
Saying that is a bit over the top; apologize quickly.
，过分。
Fù mǔ pī píng hái zi yě yào zhù yì, bié tài guò fèn.
When parents criticize their children, they should be careful not to go too far.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

过 means to exceed, and 分 names the proper share or limit.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi過guò

Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

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

八刀分

八八bāto separate
刀刀dāoknife

分 pairs 八 (to separate) with 刀 (knife), showing something cut apart with a knife.

Appears in

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