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晃荡 (huàng dang) — to rock, to sway, to shake; (colloquial) to loaf around, to idle

Definition

晃荡 combines the physical 'sway/rock' sense of 摇晃 with a colloquial sense of 'loafing around' (无所事事) — the extended meaning paints idle, aimless wandering.

verb
to rockto swayto shake(colloquial) to loaf aroundto idle

Examples

  • ，晃荡。
    Fēng tài dà le, diào dēng zài huàng dang.
    The wind is too strong; the chandelier is swaying.
  • 晃荡，。
    Tā měi tiān zài jiē shàng huàng dang, shén me yě bù gān.
    He loafs around on the streets every day, doing nothing.
  • 晃荡。
    Xiǎo chuán zài shuǐ miàn shàng qīng qīng huàng dang.
    The little boat gently rocks on the water surface.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

晃huàngshake
荡dàngsway

The 晃 (shake) and 荡 (sway) senses combine for rocking or idling about.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 晃 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Change & Process

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