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小丑 (xiǎo chǒu) — clown

Definition

小丑 (xiǎochǒu) means 'clown' as a person (in a circus, comedy act, or metaphorically someone who plays the fool). It is unrelated to 丑 ('ugly'), though the character is the same.

noun
clown
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小丑，。
    Mǎ xì tuán lǐ de xiǎo chǒu chuān zhuó cǎi sè yī fu, dòu dé hái zi men hā hā dà xiào.
    The clown in the circus wore colorful clothes and made the children laugh heartily.
  • 小丑，。
    Tā zhěng tiān zài gōng sī lǐ dāng xiǎo chǒu, shuō xiào hua dòu dà jiā kāi xīn.
    He acts like a clown at the company all day, telling jokes to make everyone happy.
  • 小丑，。
    Zhèng zhì wǔ tái shàng méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de xiǎo chǒu, měi gè rén dōu rèn zhēn dé hěn.
    On the political stage there are no real clowns; everyone is very serious.

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.

小xiǎolowly
丑chǒuclownish

小 suggests lowly or petty, 丑 suggests a clownish or disgraceful person; together they form a fixed term for a clown or contemptible person.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 醜; 丑 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 丑 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 醜; in others (丑) it is 丑.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐghost, demon
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu醜chǒu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 醜 uses 鬼, a ghost or demon, to show ugliness and 酉 for sound; that shape is about 醜, not about 丑.

Open 丑 →
Appears in
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