忙乎 (máng hū) — to be busy (colloquial/dialectal)

Definition

Colloquial, spoken way to say 'to be busy' — more casual than 忙 máng and can take an object (忙乎什么呢?).

adjective
to be busy (colloquial/dialectal)

Examples

  • 忙乎。
    Wǒ zuì jìn yì zhí hěn máng hū.
    I've been very busy lately.
  • 忙乎？
    Nǐ máng hū shén me ne?
    What are you busy with?
  • 忙乎。
    Tā zhěng tiān máng hū gōng zuò de shì.
    He's busy with work stuff all day.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

忙mángbusy
乎hū

“忙” as busy and “乎” together give a colloquial sense of being busy.

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
亡
亡wáng忙máng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

忙 pairs 忄 (heart) with 亡, which gives the sound.

Open 忙 →

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

  • 丂丂kǎobranch

The old 乎 paired an element for wind or air with 丂, a branch used as a sound part, and was the original form of the word for 'to call; to cry'.

Open 乎 →

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