壮胆 (zhuàng dǎn) — to embolden, to bolster one's courage | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb (离合词) meaning 'to bolster one's courage' — often reduplicated as 壮壮胆 in casual requests like "give me some courage."

verb

to emboldento bolster one's courage

Examples

壮胆。
Tā hē le jǐ kǒu jiǔ lái zhuàng dǎn.
He drank a few mouthfuls of wine to bolster his courage.
，。
Shàng tái qián, wǒ shēn shēn de xī le yì kǒu qì zhuàng le zhuàng dǎn.
Before going on stage, I took a deep breath to embolden myself.
，。
Nǐ péi wǒ yì qǐ qù ba, gěi wǒ zhuàng zhuàng dǎn.
Come with me — give me some courage.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

壮zhuàngstrengthen

胆dǎncourage

壮 means to strengthen, and 胆 is courage, so the idea is to strengthen courage.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 壯; 壮 is its simplified writing.

爿士壯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

爿

爿pán壯zhuàng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壯 uses 士 to hint at the meaning and 爿 for the sound; the simplified 壮 is a later abbreviation.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

旦dàn胆dǎn

Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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