深长 (shēn cháng) — profound (with a sense of enduring significance or subtle implication)

Definition

深长 describes something (a look, a silence, a sentence) that carries hidden depth and lasting meaning — not just 'deep', but rich with implication the listener is meant to feel.

adjective
profound (with a sense of enduring significance or subtle implication)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Tā de huà shuō dé yì wèi shēn shēn cháng.
    His words were meaningful and profound.
  • ，深长。
    Tā kàn le wǒ yì yǎn, mù guāng shēn cháng.
    She gave me a look, her gaze deep and meaningful.
  • 深长，。
    Zhè piān wén zhāng hán yì shēn cháng, zhí dé fǎn fù dú.
    This article has profound implications and is worth reading repeatedly.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

深shēndeep
长chánglong

深 and 长 together suggest something deep and long-lasting, hence profound.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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