勃发 (bó fā) — to thrive; to prosper; to break out; to erupt

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to thrive' (生命力勃发) or 'to break out' (战事勃发) — strongly written, rarely used in everyday speech. Pairs more with abstract forces like 生气, 朝气, 战乱 than with ordinary actions.

verb
to thriveto prosperto break outto erupt

Examples

  • ，勃发。
    Chūn tiān dào le, wàn wù bó fā.
    Spring has arrived, and everything is thriving.
  • 勃发。
    Zhè ge dì qū de jīng jì zhèng zài bó fā.
    The economy of this region is thriving.
  • 勃发，。
    Zhàn zhēng tū rán bó fā, rén men dōu táo zǒu le.
    War suddenly broke out, and people fled.

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.

勃bóvigorously
发fābreak out

勃 (vigorously) with 发 (break out) gives sudden thriving or eruption.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
孛
孛bèi勃⁰bó
Same sound today

勃 pairs 力, which carries the sense of power or force, with 孛 as a sound part.

Open 勃 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 發; 发 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 发 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (爆发, 出发) it is 發; in others (理发, 头发) it is 髮.

The form 發, which 发 stands for in many words, was originally drawn as a bow firing an arrow.

Open 发 →

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