想当初 (xiǎng dāng chū) — to recall the past; to think back to

Definition

An adverbial phrase meaning 'thinking back to the beginning' or 'as it was back then', used to contrast the past with the present, often with nostalgia or regret.

verb
to recall the pastto think back to

Examples

  • 想当初，。
    xiǎng dāng chū, Wǒ nián qīng de shí hou kě cóng lái bù zhī dào lèi.
    Back when I was young, I never knew what it was like to be tired.
  • 想当初。
    Tā zǒng ài gēn wǒ men shuō xiǎng dāng chū tā shì zěn me chuàng yè de.
    He always loves to tell us about how he started his business back then.
  • 想当初，。
    xiǎng dāng chū, Zhè lǐ hái shì yí piàn huāng dì.
    Back then, this place was still a barren wilderness.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

想xiǎngrecall
当初at the beginning
当dāngat (time)初chūbeginning
偏正Modifier + head

想 recall and 当初 at the beginning/past combine to mean thinking back.

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, mind
Sound part声符shēngfú
相
相xiāng想xiǎng
Same sound today

想 has 心 (heart, mind) below 相 (to look at); the shape shows the mind looking at or considering something, and 相 also gives the sound.

Open 想 →

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 當; 当 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng當dāng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 當 combines 田 (field) with 尚; the evidence describes fields facing each other.

Open 当 →

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

初 combines 衤 (clothes) and 刀 (knife), showing the start of making clothes by cutting cloth.

Open 初 →

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