驱散 (qū sàn) — to disperse, to break up (a crowd, smoke, cloud…

Definition

verb

to disperseto break up (a crowd, smoke, clouds, etc.)

驱散。
Jǐng chá hěn kuài qū sàn le jù jí de rén qún.
The police quickly dispersed the gathered crowd.
驱散。
Yí zhèn dà fēng bǎ wū yún qū sàn le.
A gust of wind dispersed the dark clouds.
驱散。
Dǎ kāi chuāng hu hòu yān wèi màn màn qū sàn le.
After opening the window, the smell of smoke gradually dispersed.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

驱 drives something away, and 散 shows it scatters, giving disperse.

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 驅; 驱 is its simplified writing.

馬區驅

Meaning part形符xíngfú

馬馬mǎhorse

Sound part声符shēngfú

區

區qū驅qū

Same sound today

The traditional form 驅 pairs 馬 (horse) with 區 as a sound part; simplified 驱 is a later shorthand.

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

散 combines 林 (trees or forest) and 攴 (to knock or tap), originally showing knocking to clear vegetation, later extended to breaking up or dispersing.