妖艳 (yāo yàn) — seductive, coquettish (usu. of a woman, with a negative connotation of being overly flashy or flirtatious)

Definition

Always carries a negative, sexually suggestive tone — 'seductive in a flashy way'. Unlike 美丽 or 漂亮, it implies the look is too provocative, not merely attractive.

adjective
seductivecoquettish (usu. of a woman, with a negative connotation of being overly flashy or flirtatious)

Examples

  • 妖艳，。
    Tā chuān zhuó yì tiáo yāo yàn de hóng sè qún zi zǒu jìn lái, suǒ yǒu rén dōu kàn zhe tā.
    She walked in wearing a seductive red dress, and everyone stared at her.
  • 妖艳。
    Zhè zhǒng yāo yàn de dǎ bàn bú shì hé cān jiā zhèng shì de huì yì.
    This kind of flashy dress isn't suitable for formal meetings.
  • 妖艳。
    Tā yāo yàn de xiào róng ràng lǎo bǎn hěn bù gāo xìng.
    Her coquettish smile made the boss very unhappy.

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.

妖yāobewitching
艳yànbeautiful

妖 adds a bewitching, strange quality to 艳 beauty, so it describes seductive prettiness.

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
夭
夭yāo妖yāo
Same sound today

妖 is built from 女 (woman) and 夭; the 女 part relates to the meaning, while 夭 gives the sound.

Open 妖 →

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 豔; 艳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
豐豐fēngabundant, great
Sound part声符shēngfú
盇
盇hé豔yàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 豔 pairs 豐 (abundant, great) with a sound component 盇; the simplified 艳 is a later abbreviation.

Open 艳 →

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