堂皇 (táng huáng) — magnificent, stately, grand

Definition

Use 堂皇 for large, showy, ornate things — buildings, décor, gowns — to mean 'magnificent / stately / grand'. It is descriptive (not an action verb), often paired with 冠冕 in the set phrase 冠冕堂皇 ('high-flown, pompous').

verb
magnificentstatelygrand

Examples

  • 堂皇。
    Zhè zuò gōng diàn de zhuāng shì fēi cháng táng huáng.
    The decoration of this palace is very magnificent.
  • 堂皇。
    Tā chuān zhuó yì shēn táng huáng de lǐ fú zǒu shàng hóng tǎn.
    She walked the red carpet in a stately gown.
  • 堂皇，。
    Dà lóu de wài guān suī rán táng huáng, dàn nèi bù shè jì què hěn shí yòng.
    The building's exterior is grand, but the interior design is very practical.

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.

堂táng
皇huáng

堂皇 is a single word; 堂 and 皇 contribute meaning only when combined.

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
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng堂táng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Open 堂 →

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
𤼽𤼽𤼽
Sound part声符shēngfú
王
王wáng皇huáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 𤼽 originally drew a single peacock feather; 王 was later added to give the sound.

Open 皇 →

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