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傻气 (shǎ qì) — silly manner, foolishness

Definition

傻气 (shǎqì) names a 'silly manner' or 'foolish air' someone carries — not a single dumb act, but a gentle, sometimes endearing quality. It usually sounds affectionate rather than insulting.

noun
silly mannerfoolishness

Examples

  • 傻气。
    Tā shuō huà de shí hou dài zhe yì diǎn shǎ qì.
    He speaks with a bit of silliness.
  • 傻气。
    Tā de shǎ qì qí shí shì tā de kě ài de dì fāng.
    Her silliness is actually her charm.
  • 傻气，。
    Bié bèi tā de shǎ qì piàn le, tā hěn cōng ming.
    Don't be fooled by his silliness; he's very smart.

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.

傻shǎfoolish
气qìair/manner

傻 means foolish and 气 means air or manner; together they describe a foolish manner.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 傻 →

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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