成名 (chéng míng) — to become famous, to make a name for oneself | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

成名 means 'to become famous' — focuses on the result of achieving fame, often as a one-time event (e.g. 一举成名), unlike 著名 which describes an already-famous person or thing.

verb

to become famousto make a name for oneself

Examples

成名。
Tā cóng xiǎo jiù mèng xiǎng chéng míng.
He dreamed of becoming famous since childhood.
，。
Tā yǎn le nà bù diàn yǐng hòu, yí xià zi chéng le míng.
After acting in that movie, he became famous overnight.
成名，。
Hěn duō rén zài nǔ lì chéng míng, dàn zhǐ yǒu shǎo shù rén zuò dào le.
Many people work hard to become famous, but only a few succeed.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

成chéngbecome

The 成 sense of becoming and the 名 sense of name give making a name.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

丁

丁dīng成chéng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

成 puts 戊, a weapon, beside 丁, which gives the sound. The weapon part relates to protection, as in the old sense of city walls.

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

夕口名

夕夕xīcrescent moon
口口kǒumouth

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Appears in

Success & Failure

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