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潜水 (qián shuǐ) — to dive; to go underwater; (online) to lurk; to read without posting

Definition

Two unrelated senses: the literal 'to dive' (the sport/activity), and the internet slang 'to lurk online — read a group/forum without posting.' 跳水 is the head-first competitive dive; 潜伏 is lurking in a physical, hidden sense.

verb
to diveto go underwater(online) to lurkto read without posting

Examples

  • 潜水。
    Tā měi nián xià tiān dōu huì qù hǎi biān qián shuǐ.
    He goes diving at the seaside every summer.
  • 潜水，。
    Zài qún lǐ bú yào zǒng shì qián shuǐ, ǒu ěr yě chū lái shuō jù huà.
    Don't always lurk in the group; come out and say something once in a while.
  • 潜水。
    qián shuǐ Zhī qián yí dìng yào jiǎn chá yǎng qì píng.
    Before diving, you must check the oxygen tank.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

潜qiánsubmerge
水shuǐwater

潜 and 水 combine as going under water, and by extension lurking online without posting.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 潛; 潜 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
朁
朁cǎn潛qián
Same sound today

The form 潛 has 水 as a meaning part and 朁 as a sound part; this note is about 潛, not the simplified 潜.

Open 潜 →

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

水 is a simple drawing of water flowing.

Open 水 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Outdoor Recreation

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