潺潺 (chán chán) — (onomatopoeia) murmur, babble (of flowing water)

Definition

Onomatopoeia for the gentle murmuring sound of flowing water — used as an adverb (潺潺地) before a verb like 流 or as a subject-predicate clause (泉水潺潺). Literary in register; common in poetry and prose descriptions of streams, springs, and rain.

onomatopoeia
murmurbabble (of flowing water)

Examples

  • 潺潺。
    Shān jiān de xiǎo xī chán chán dì liú tǎng zhe.
    The stream in the mountains flows with a murmuring sound.
  • 潺潺，。
    Yǔ shēng chán chán, ràng rén jué de hěn ān jìng.
    The babbling sound of rain makes people feel very peaceful.
  • 潺潺，。
    Quán shuǐ chán chán, cóng shí fèng zhōng yǒng chū.
    The spring water gurgles as it flows out from the cracks in the rocks.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

潺chán
潺chán

The characters 潺 carry no meaning on their own here; together they imitate the murmur of water.

Sound-only characters

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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