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唐突 (táng tū) — to be rude; to treat irreverently; to offend (by being abrupt or tactless)

Definition

唐突 (tángtū) means to offend by being abrupt or tactless — acting without regard for the moment. Used for words or actions that come across as too direct or inappropriate, more literary than colloquial.

verb
to be rudeto treat irreverentlyto offend (by being abrupt or tactless)

Examples

  • 唐突，。
    Wǒ gāng cái de huà kě néng yǒu xiē táng tū, qǐng nín bú yào jiè yì.
    My words just now might have been a bit rude; please don't mind.
  • ，唐突。
    Tā zhè yàng zhí jiē pī píng bié rén, shí zài tài táng tū le.
    He was really too rude to criticize others so directly.
  • ，唐突。
    Chū cì jiàn miàn jiù wèn zhè me sī rén de wèn tí, nǐ táng tū le duì fāng.
    Asking such a personal question on a first meeting, you offended the other person.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
联绵liánmiánBound pair

Two characters that only ever appear together, spelling one ancient two-syllable word.

唐táng
突tū

唐 and 突 are used together as a fixed pair meaning rude; neither character carries its own meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
庚
庚gēng唐táng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

唐 pairs 庚, a picture of a hollow instrument, with 口 as a distinguishing mark; the shape is based on hollowness or openness.

Open 唐 →

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

突 shows 犬 (dog) under 穴 (cave; den), as a dog suddenly coming out of a den.

Open 突 →
Appears in
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