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上瘾 (shàng yǐn) — to become addicted (to something)

Definition

上瘾 (shàngyǐn) means to become addicted to something — usually a substance or behavior. Unlike 沉迷, it focuses on the resulting dependency, not on being absorbed in the moment.

verb
to become addicted (to something)

Examples

  • 。
    Tā zuì jìn duì yóu xì shàng le yǐn.
    He recently became addicted to games.
  • 上瘾。
    Xī yān hěn róng yì shàng yǐn.
    Smoking is easy to get addicted to.
  • 上瘾？
    Nǐ shàng yǐn le ma?
    Are you addicted?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

上shàngto get
瘾yǐnaddiction

The sense of 上 as getting combines with 瘾 as an urge to show becoming addicted.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

上 is drawn as a short horizontal line placed above a longer arc, marking a position above that arc.

Open 上 →

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 癮; 瘾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
隱
隱yǐn癮yǐn
Same sound today

The traditional form 癮 uses 疒 to show illness and 隱 for the sound; the simplified 瘾 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 瘾 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Mental Health

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