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慌张 (huāng zhāng) — flustered, agitated

Definition

慌张 describes how a person visibly appears when startled or under pressure — flustered on the outside. Compare 慌乱 (the inner mental state) and 慌忙 (rushed actions).

adjective
flusteredagitated

Examples

  • ，慌张。
    Tā dì yī cì shàng tái yǎn jiǎng, xiǎn de hěn huāng zhāng.
    He looked very flustered during his first speech on stage.
  • 慌张，。
    Yù dào tū fā qíng kuàng bú yào huāng zhāng, xiān lěng jìng xià lái.
    Don't panic when encountering an emergency; calm down first.
  • ，慌张。
    Tā fā xiàn qián bāo diū le, dùn shí huāng zhāng qǐ lái.
    She became flustered instantly when she realized her wallet was lost.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

慌huāngflustered
张zhāngtense

慌 and 张 both carry the sense of flustered or tense, so 慌张 describes an agitated, hurried state.

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xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
荒
荒huāng慌huāng
Same sound today

慌 pairs 忄 (heart) with 荒, which gives the sound.

Open 慌 →

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 張; 张 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
長
長cháng張zhāng
Same sound today

The traditional form 張 combines 弓, a bow, with 長, which points to the sound; the simplified 张 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 张 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Emotions & Feelings

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