惨案 (cǎn àn) — massacre; murder case; tragedy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

massacremurder casetragedy

Measure word · 起

Examples

惨案。
Lì shǐ shàng fā shēng le hěn duō cǎn àn.
Many massacres have occurred in history.
惨案。
Jǐng chá zhèng zài diào chá zhè qǐ cǎn àn.
The police are investigating this murder case.
惨案。
Nà cì cǎn àn ràng zhěng gè chéng shì xiàn rù le bēi shāng.
That tragedy plunged the entire city into grief.

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.

惨 means tragic or cruel, and 案 means case, together forming a tragic incident.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 慘; 惨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

參

參cān慘cǎn

Same sound today

The traditional form 慘 puts 心 (heart) with 參 as its sound part. The simplified 惨 is a later shorthand, so its shape is not the historical form.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木安案

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

安

安ān案àn

Same sound today

案 pairs 木, a wood/tree shape, with 安, which is used for its sound.

Appears in

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