阿 (ā) — (literary) to flatter; to curry favor with
Definition
阿 is a literary bound form used in 阿谀奉承 to mean 'flatter' — formal/written, and almost never appears on its own.
bound form
(literary) to flatterto curry favor with
Easily confused
- 呵hēlook-aliketo exhale, to breathe out (especially onto a surface)
- 啊āsound-alike(interjection) Ah! Oh! — expresses surprise, sudden understanding, or discovery
- 河hélook-alikeriver
- 腌āsound-alike(bound character) dirty, filthy (in 腌臢)
- 珂kēlook-alike(bound form) jade-like stone; used in transliterations and names
- 柯kēlook-alike(bound form) branch (in literary or botanical compounds)
Examples
- 。Tā xǐ huan ā yú fèng chéng bié rén.He likes to flatter others.
- 。Tā cóng bù ā yú fèng chéng rèn hé rén.He never flatters anyone.
- 阿。Cǐ rén shàn yú ā yú shàng si.This person is good at flattering his superiors.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě阿ā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The part 阜 points to a mound, and 可 gives the pronunciation; 阿 originally meant a big mound.
Appears in
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