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炼狱 (liàn yù) — (religion) purgatory; (figurative) hellish experience; nightmare scenario

Definition

Literally 'purgatory' in Catholic theology — a place where souls are purified after death. In modern usage it broadly means any hellish ordeal or nightmarish experience.

noun
(religion) purgatory(figurative) hellish experiencenightmare scenario

Examples

  • 炼狱。
    Xìn tú men xiāng xìn liàn yù shì yí gè jìng huà líng hún de dì fāng.
    Believers trust that purgatory is a place to purify the soul.
  • 炼狱。
    Zhè duàn shí jiān de gōng zuò jiǎn zhí xiàng liàn yù yí yàng nán áo.
    The work during this period is as hard to endure as purgatory.
  • ，炼狱。
    Duì shì bīng lái shuō, zhàn chǎng jiù shì rén jiān liàn yù.
    For soldiers, the battlefield is a living hell.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

炼liànrefine
狱yùprison

'炼' refine + '狱' prison; a prison of purification.

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 煉; 炼 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 炼 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 煉; in others (锻炼) it is 鍊.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
柬
柬jiǎn煉liàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 煉 pairs 火 (fire) with 柬 as its sound part. The simplified 炼 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical component.

Open 炼 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獄; 狱 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獄 pairs 㹜 (two dog forms) with 言 (words), showing dogs barking at each other in a jail with guard dogs. The simplified 狱 is a later shorthand.

Open 狱 →
Appears in
Religion & Belief

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