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游离 (yóu lí) — drifting; dissociated (of people, thoughts, or situations); (chemistry) free; unbound

Definition

Used for people/thoughts that feel detached and unanchored from a group or situation, or in chemistry for a 'free' (unbound) atom or radical. Primarily a written or technical term, not everyday spoken language.

adjective
driftingdissociated (of people, thoughts, or situations)(chemistry) freeunbound

Examples

  • 游离。
    Tā gǎn jué zì jǐ yóu lí zài qún tǐ zhī wài.
    He felt himself drifting away from the group.
  • 游离。
    Huà xué lǐ de yóu lí jī fēi cháng bù wěn dìng.
    Free radicals in chemistry are very unstable.
  • 游离。
    Tā yì shēng dōu yóu lí bú dìng.
    He spent his whole life unsettled and drifting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

游yóudrifting
离líseparate

游 suggests drifting and 离 suggests being separate, together describing a dissociated or free state.

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
水水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
斿
斿yóu游yóu
Same sound today

游 combines 水 (water) with 斿, which gives the sound yóu and also relates to travelling.

Open 游 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →
Appears in
Physics & Chemistry

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