匆匆 (cōng cōng) — hurried, in a hurry | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

匆匆 (cōngcōng) is an adjective built from the reduplicated adverbial form — it describes an action done in a brief, hurried way (e.g., 匆匆走过). For a stronger sense of flustered rush, use 慌忙.

adjective

hurriedin a hurry

Examples

匆匆。
Tā cōng cōng dì zǒu jìn le jiào shì.
He hurried into the classroom.
，匆匆。
Shí jiān hěn jǐn, wǒ men zhǐ néng cōng cōng chī le jǐ kǒu fàn.
Time was tight, so we could only eat a few hurried bites.
匆匆。
Tā cōng cōng xiě le jǐ jù huà jiù lí kāi le.
She hurriedly wrote a few sentences and left.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

匆cōnghurried

匆cōnghurried

匆 already suggests hurry; repeating it intensifies the hurried manner.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

囪

囪cōng匆cōng

Same sound today

The current 匆 comes from a form that paired 囪 for sound with 心 for meaning; the 心 part was dropped, and part of 囪 was left out.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

囪

囪cōng匆cōng

Same sound today

The current 匆 comes from a form that paired 囪 for sound with 心 for meaning; the 心 part was dropped, and part of 囪 was left out.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 Time (Abstract)

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