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奇遇 (qí yù) — unexpected happy encounter; unexpected delightful experience or adventure

Definition

奇遇 is a ‘happy, fateful encounter’ — something delightful that happens by chance, often with romantic or adventure overtones. A more literary or story-like alternative to the everyday 遇见.

noun
unexpected happy encounterunexpected delightful experience or adventure

Examples

  • 奇遇。
    Nà cì lǚ xíng zhōng de qí yù ràng wǒ zhōng shēng nán wàng.
    The unexpected encounter during that trip was unforgettable for the rest of my life.
  • ，奇遇。
    Tā men de xiāng yù bú shì ǒu rán, ér shì yì chǎng měi lì de qí yù.
    Their meeting was not a coincidence but a beautiful serendipitous encounter.
  • 奇遇。
    Zhè běn shū jiǎng shù le yí gè guān yú qí yù de ài qíng gù shi.
    This book tells a love story about an unexpected happy encounter.

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.

奇qíunusual
遇yùencounter

奇遇 combines 奇 (“unusual”) with 遇 (“encounter”), so it means an unexpected encounter.

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
大大dàbig; great
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě奇
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奇 pairs 大 (big; great) with 可, a sound part.

Open 奇 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
禺
禺yú遇yù
Same sound today

遇 combines 辶, a walking-related part, with 禺, which gives the sound. The 辶 part shows that the meaning involves walking or moving.

Open 遇 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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