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捉迷藏 (zhuō mí cáng) — hide-and-seek (the game)

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'hide-and-seek,' the childhood game. It behaves like a verb-object phrase: you say 玩捉迷藏 ('play hide-and-seek'), not 捉迷藏 as a standalone verb.

phrase
hide-and-seek (the game)

Examples

  • 捉迷藏。
    Wǒ men xiǎo shí hou jīng cháng yì qǐ wán zhuō mí cáng.
    We often played hide-and-seek together when we were kids.
  • 捉迷藏？
    Nǐ xiǎo shí hou xǐ huan wán zhuō mí cáng ma?
    Did you like playing hide-and-seek when you were little?
  • 捉迷藏。
    Tā men zài huā yuán lǐ wán zhuō mí cáng wán dé hěn kāi xīn.
    They played hide-and-seek in the garden and had a lot of fun.

Origin

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
足
足zú捉zhuō
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

捉 pairs 扌, the hand form of 手, with 足, which gives the character its sound.

Open 捉 →

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
米
米mǐ迷mí
Same sound today

迷 uses 辵, the walking part, and 米, which gives the sound.

Open 迷 →

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
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
臧
臧zāng藏cáng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

藏 is made from 艸 (grass) and 臧, where 臧 gives the sound.

Open 藏 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Games & Puzzles

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.