囊中 (náng zhōng) — inside the bag/pocket (in compound phrases)

Definition

Literary/literary-style 'in one's bag/pocket', used almost only in set phrases like 囊中羞涩 (short of cash) and 囊中之物 (something easily within reach). It is not used in everyday speech — say 钱包里 or 口袋里 instead.

noun
inside the bag/pocket (in compound phrases)

Examples

  • 囊中，。
    Wǒ náng zhōng de qián bù duō le, yào shěng zhe diǎn huā.
    I don't have much money left in my bag; I need to spend carefully.
  • 囊中，。
    Tā náng zhōng xiū sè, zuì jìn hěn shǎo chū lái chī fàn.
    He's short of money lately and rarely goes out to eat.
  • 囊中。
    Nà ge jiǎng xiàng duì tā lái shuō rú tóng náng zhōng zhī wù.
    That award is like a thing in his bag—easily obtained.

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.

囊nángbag
中zhōnginside

囊 names the bag and 中 points to its inside.

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
㯻㯻㯻bag
Sound part声符shēngfú
襄
襄xiāng囊náng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

囊 is made from 㯻, a tied bag with items inside, plus an abbreviated form of 襄 that gives the sound.

Open 囊 →

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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