扑鼻 (pū bí) — (of a strong smell) to assail the nostrils, to hit one's nose; to be pungent

Definition

扑鼻 describes a strong smell that hits the nose directly — usually pleasant, as in 花香扑鼻. It functions as an adverbial: the smell is the subject, 扑鼻 describes HOW it reaches you.

verb
(of a strong smell) to assail the nostrilsto hit one's noseto be pungent

Examples

  • ，扑鼻。
    Yí jìn mén, yì gǔ huā xiāng pū bí ér lái.
    As soon as I entered the door, a wave of floral fragrance hit my nose.
  • 。
    Zhè gǔ xuè xīng wèi pū dé mǎn bí dōu shì.
    This smell of blood fills the nose completely.
  • ，扑鼻。
    Tā zǒu jìn chú fáng, yì gǔ yóu yān wèi pū bí ér lái.
    He walked into the kitchen, and a greasy cooking smell hit his nose.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

扑pūassail
鼻bínose

扑 (assail) and 鼻 (nose) combine to say a smell hits the nose.

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
卜
卜bǔ扑pū
Same sound today

扑 uses 手 (hand) for meaning and 卜 (bǔ) for sound.

Open 扑 →

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
自自zìnose
Sound part声符shēngfú
畀
畀bì鼻bí
Same sound today

鼻 pairs 自, meaning nose, with 畀, which gives the sound.

Open 鼻 →

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