映出 (yìng chū) — to reflect, to mirror (an image, a scene) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid verb meaning 'to mirror / reflect' an image or scene onto a surface (light, water, glass). Pairs naturally with 镜子 and 影子 — the image or scene appears, rather than the surface actively bouncing light.

verb

to reflectto mirror (an image, a scene)

Examples

映出。
Qīng chén de yáng guāng yìng chū dà lóu de yǐng zi.
The morning sun reflected the building's shadow.
映出。
Jìng zi lǐ yìng chū le tā wēi xiào de miàn róng.
The mirror reflected her smiling face.
。
Zhè miàn jiù jìng zi yǐ jīng yìng bù chū rén liǎn le.
This old mirror no longer reflects faces.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

映yìngreflect

"映" means reflect, and "出" indicates the image comes out, so it means reflect or mirror.

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.

日央映

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

央

央yāng映yìng

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

映 pairs 日, the sun, with 央 as a sound element.

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

止止zhǐfoot
凵凵kǎncave

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

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