闲荡 (xián dàng) — to saunter, to stroll

Definition

verb
to saunterto stroll
Easily confused

Examples

  • 闲荡。
    Tā xǐ huan zài gōng yuán lǐ xián dàng.
    He likes to stroll in the park.
  • 闲荡。
    Zhōu mò wǒ men zài jiē shàng xián dàng le yí xià wǔ.
    We spent the afternoon strolling on the street.
  • 闲荡。
    Tā xián dàng zhe chuān guò xiǎo zhèn.
    He strolled through the town.

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.

闲xiánidle
荡dàngwander

闲 (idle) and 荡 (wander) give idle wandering.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閒; 闲 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 閒 puts 月 (moon) inside 門 (door), as if moonlight peeks through a door; this picture gives the idea of a gap or space. The simplified 闲 is a later abbreviation.

Open 闲 →

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 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →

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