安安稳稳 (ān ān wěn wěn) — peaceful and stable; rock steady; calm and secu…

Definition

Reduplicated idiom meaning 'peacefully and steadily' — emphasizes calm security over time. As a bound form it needs to attach to 地 (adverbially) or to a verb as a complement (睡得安安稳稳).

bound form

peaceful and stablerock steadycalm and secure

Examples

安安稳稳。
Tā xī wàng néng ān ān wěn wěn dì guò wán zhè yì shēng.
He hopes to live this life peacefully and stably.
安安稳稳，。
Hái zi shuì dé hěn ān ān wěn wěn, yì diǎn yě méi xǐng.
The child slept soundly and steadily, not waking up at all.
，安安稳稳。
Jīng guò nǔ lì, gōng sī xiàn zài jīng yíng dé ān ān wěn wěn.
After hard work, the company is now operating smoothly and stably.

Origin

Reduplicated word

构词法gòucífǎ

重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

安安peaceful

安ānpeaceful安ānpeaceful

重叠Reduplication

稳稳stable

稳wěnstable稳wěnstable

重叠Reduplication

安稳 is repeated as 安安稳稳 to intensify the sense of peaceful stability.

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.

宀女安

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

女

女nǚ安ān

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

In 安, 宀 sits above a seated 女 on a cushion; 宀 is the meaning part, 女 is the sound part, and the character originally meant sitting at ease.

Open 安 →