倾吐 (qīng tǔ) — to pour out one's heart; to unburden oneself | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'to pour out' feelings or grievances in speech or writing — more formal and figurative than 抱怨 ('to complain'), which focuses on voicing displeasure.

verb

to pour out one's heartto unburden oneself

Examples

倾吐。
Tā xiàng hǎo péng you qīng tǔ le xīn lǐ de fán nǎo.
She poured out her worries to her best friend.
倾吐。
Zài rì jì lǐ qīng tǔ zì jǐ de xiǎng fǎ shì yì zhǒng hěn hǎo de xí guàn.
Pouring out your thoughts in a diary is a very good habit.
，倾吐。
Tā xiě le yì fēng cháng xìn, xiàng fù qīn qīng tǔ duō nián de wěi qu.
He wrote a long letter to pour out years of grievances to his father.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

吐tǔexpress

“倾” means pour out and “吐” means express or utter, so together they suggest pouring one's feelings out.

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 傾; 倾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

頃

頃qǐng傾qīng

Same sound today

The traditional form 傾 combines 人 (man) with 頃, which gives the sound; 倾 is the simplified form of 傾.

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

口土吐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

土tǔ吐tǔ

Same sound today

吐 pairs 口, the mouth, with 土, which gives the sound.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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