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怪诞 (guài dàn) — bizarre, grotesque, absurdly strange

Definition

A strong literary adjective meaning 'bizarre and grotesque' — goes beyond plain 奇怪 to add an unsettling, surreal, or distorted quality. Use for art, dreams, and scenes that feel strange in a dramatic way.

adjective
bizarregrotesqueabsurdly strange

Examples

  • 怪诞，。
    Zhè bù yǐng piàn de gù shi qíng jié shí fēn guài dàn, ràng rén nán yǐ lǐ jiě.
    The plot of this film is very bizarre, making it hard to understand.
  • 怪诞。
    Tā de mèng jìng chōng mǎn le guài dàn de jǐng xiàng.
    His dream was full of grotesque scenes.
  • 怪诞。
    Zhè ge yì shù jiā de zuò pǐn fēng gé guài dàn ér dú tè.
    This artist's work style is bizarre and unique.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

怪guàistrange
诞dànabsurd

怪 means strange and 诞 means absurd, together giving a bizarre, grotesque sense.

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

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →

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 誕; 诞 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword, speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
延
延yán誕dàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 誕 combines 言 (word, speech) with 延, which gives the sound; the simplified 诞 is a later shorthand.

Open 诞 →
Appears in
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