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出洋相 (chū yáng xiàng) — to make a fool of oneself (especially in public or in a cross-cultural situation); to make an embarrassing blunder

Definition

To make a fool of yourself, often in public or across cultures. Often used with 出 (e.g. 出了洋相, 别出洋相) and can be intensified with 大 (出大洋相).

verb
to make a fool of oneself (especially in public or in a cross-cultural situation)to make an embarrassing blunder

Examples

  • 出洋相。
    Tā zǒng shì bù xiǎo xīn chū yáng xiàng.
    He always makes a fool of himself unintentionally.
  • 。
    Tā zài jù huì shàng chū le yí cì dà yáng xiàng.
    He made a huge fool of himself at the party once.
  • ？。
    Nǐ chū shén me yáng xiàng? kuài bié nà yàng le.
    What kind of fool are you making of yourself? Stop that.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

出chūproduce
洋相foreign spectacle
洋yángforeign相xiāngappearance
偏正Modifier + head

出 (produce) and 洋相 (a foreign-looking spectacle) combine to mean making a public fool of oneself.

Characters in this word

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

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
羊
羊yáng洋yáng
Same sound today

洋 pairs 氵, the water part, with 羊 to give its sound.

Open 洋 →

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

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Idioms & Set Phrases

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