逗趣 (dòu qù) — to amuse, to make someone laugh, to tease | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to amuse' or 'to tease' in a playful, lighthearted way. Closer to 开玩笑 (playful joking) than to formal 幽默 (humor).

verb

to amuseto make someone laughto tease

Examples

，逗趣。
Tā jiǎng le gè xiào hua, xiǎng dòu qù wǒ men.
He told a joke to amuse us.
逗趣，。
Bié dòu qù le, kuài shuō zhèng shì ba.
Stop teasing and get to the point.
逗趣，。
Zhè wèi yǎn yuán hěn huì dòu qù, guān zhòng dōu xǐ huan tā.
This actor is great at making people laugh; the audience all like him.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

逗 tease and 趣 fun combine to mean tease for fun.

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.

辶豆逗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

豆

豆dòu逗dòu

Same sound today

逗 pairs 辶, written in full as 辵, with 豆, which gives the sound.

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

走取趣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

走走zǒuwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

取

取qǔ趣qù

Same sound today

趣 has 走, showing walking or hurrying, and 取, which gives the sound; the shape points to moving toward something.

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