尘俗 (chén sú) — the mundane world; worldly affairs (often with a tone of weariness or detachment)

Definition

Literary adjective for the mundane, worldly life — used in writing with a tone of weariness or detachment, as in 尘俗的生活 ('worldly life') or 尘俗中的烦恼 ('troubles of the mortal world').

adjective
the mundane worldworldly affairs (often with a tone of weariness or detachment)

Examples

  • 尘俗，。
    Tā yàn juàn le chén sú de shēng huó, jué dìng qù shān lǐ xiū xíng.
    He grew tired of worldly life and decided to go practice in the mountains.
  • 尘俗。
    Zhè shǒu shī miáo xiě le zuò zhě duì chén sú de gǎn kǎi.
    This poem describes the author's reflections on the mundane world.
  • 尘俗，。
    chén sú Zhōng de fán nǎo, zài shān shuǐ zhī jiān dōu xiāo sàn le.
    The worries of the worldly world all dissolve amid the mountains and waters.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

尘chéndust
俗súworldly customs

尘 dust and 俗 worldly customs combine to mean the mundane, worldly sphere.

Characters in this word

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

In 尘, 小 (small) sits above 土 (earth), giving the idea of tiny bits of earth.

Open 尘 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ俗sú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

俗 is built from 亻, a person, and 谷, which gives the sound; it refers to customs of people.

Open 俗 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.