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哗众取宠 (huá zhòng qǔ chǒng) — to court popularity by pandering to the public; (idiom) flashy but insincere talk or action designed to please the crowd

Definition

A chengyu meaning to win applause by pandering to the crowd — saying or doing flashy, insincere things purely to attract attention. Carries a clearly negative judgment, unlike neutral ways of appealing to an audience.

idiom
to court popularity by pandering to the publicflashy but insincere talk or action designed to please the crowd

Examples

  • 哗众取宠，。
    Tā shuō de nà xiē huà zhǐ shì huá zhòng qǔ chǒng, méi yǒu shí zhì nèi róng.
    What he said was just pandering, with no real substance.
  • 哗众取宠，。
    Zhè zhǒng huá zhòng qǔ chǒng de zuò fǎ, zuì zhōng huì shī qù dà jiā de xìn rèn.
    This kind of attention-seeking behavior will eventually lose everyone's trust.
  • 哗众取宠，。
    Zhēn zhèng de xué zhě bú huì huá zhòng qǔ chǒng, ér shì rèn zhēn zuò yán jiū.
    Real scholars don't pander; they do solid research.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

哗众
哗huámake noise众zhòngcrowd
动宾Verb + object
取宠
取qǔtake宠chǒngfavor
动宾Verb + object

哗众 (stir the crowd) and 取宠 (win favor) combine to mean court popularity by pandering.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 哗 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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

取 pairs 又 (hand) with 耳 (ear), showing a hand taking an ear, as in taking the ear of fallen prey.

Open 取 →

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 寵; 宠 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
Sound part声符shēngfú
龍
龍lóng寵chǒng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 寵 pairs 宀 (roof) with 龍 (dragon): 宀 relates to the meaning and 龍 gives the sound. The simplified 宠 is a later shorthand.

Open 宠 →
Appears in
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