放胆 (fàng dǎn) — to act boldly and with confidence, to dare to do something

Definition

A colloquial verb meaning 'to dare, to act boldly.' Implies mustering courage to do something risky, stronger and more colloquial than 敢于.

verb
to act boldly and with confidence, to dare to do something

Examples

  • 放胆，！
    fàng dǎn Qù zuò ba, bié pà shī bài!
    Go for it boldly, don't be afraid of failure!
  • ，。
    Tā fàng le yí cì dǎn, zhōng yú xiàng tā biǎo bái le.
    He finally mustered the courage and confessed to her.
  • 放胆，。
    Rú guǒ nǐ bú fàng dǎn cháng shì, yǒng yuǎn bú huì zhī dào jié guǒ.
    If you don't dare to try, you'll never know the outcome.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

放fàngloosen or put forth
胆dǎncourage

放 (loosen or put forth) and 胆 (courage) combine: the word means to put forth courage and act boldly.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand, action
Sound part声符shēngfú
方
方fāng放fàng
Same sound today

放 uses 方 for its sound and 攵, a hand/action part, to mark an action of release.

Open 放 →

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
⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn胆dǎn
Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Open 胆 →

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