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减肥 (jiǎn féi) — to lose weight

Definition

减肥 is a verb-object phrase: the action of intentionally losing weight. Don't confuse it with the adjective 瘦 (the result of being thin) or 减少/削减 (reduce amounts like budgets or numbers).

verb
to lose weight

Examples

  • 。
    Tā zhè ge yuè jiǎn le wǔ jīn féi.
    She lost five jin of weight this month.
  • 减肥，。
    Wǒ dǎ suàn jiǎn féi, suǒ yǐ wǎn shàng bù chī mǐ fàn.
    I plan to lose weight, so I don't eat rice at night.
  • 减肥，。
    Tā jiǎn féi jiān chí le bàn nián, zhōng yú shòu le.
    He persisted in losing weight for half a year and finally became thin.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

减jiǎnreduce
肥féifat/weight

减 reduce and 肥 fat/weight combine to mean losing weight.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 減; 减 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 減 has 氵, water, and 咸, a seal: sealing off a stream of water lessens its flow. The simplified 减 is a later abbreviation.

Open 减 →

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

  • 肉肉ròumeat
  • 卪卪jiéperson kneeling

肥 is built from 肉, meat, and 卪, a kneeling person.

Open 肥 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 4Fitness & Exercise5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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