忽闪 (hū shǎn) — to flash, to glitter, to gleam

Definition

A vivid onomatopoeic verb for light that flashes, flickers, or glitters in brief bursts — often used for eyes and stars. Collapses the difference between a single flash and repeated flickering; reduplicates as 忽闪忽闪.

verb
to flashto glitterto gleam

Examples

  • 忽闪。
    Tā de yǎn jing lǐ hū shǎn zhe xīng fèn de guāng máng.
    Her eyes flashed with excitement.
  • 忽闪。
    Yuǎn chù de dēng guāng zài hēi àn zhōng hū shǎn le jǐ xià.
    The distant lights flickered in the darkness.
  • 忽闪。
    Xīng xing zài yè kōng zhōng hū shǎn zhe cuǐ càn de guāng.
    The stars glittered with brilliant light in the night sky.

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.

忽hūsuddenly
闪shǎnflash

忽 adds a sense of suddenness, and 闪 adds the flashing movement.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù忽hū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

忽 combines 心, meaning heart, and 勿, used for its sound.

Open 忽 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閃; 闪 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional 閃, 人 (person) appears inside 門 (gate), showing a person running through a gate. The simplified 闪 is a later shorthand.

Open 闪 →

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