熙攘 (xī rǎng) — bustling with people, crowded and lively (liter…

Definition

Literary adjective for a place crowded and buzzing with people. Almost always appears in set phrases like 熙熙攘攘.

adjective

bustling with peoplecrowded and lively (literary)

，熙攘。
Dà jiē shàng rén lái rén wǎng, yí piàn xī rǎng jǐng xiàng.
The street was full of people coming and going — a scene of bustling activity.
熙攘，。
Jié rì de guǎng chǎng xī rǎng fēi fán, rè nao jí le.
During the holiday, the square was extraordinarily bustling and lively.
，熙攘。
Tā xǐ huan ān jìng, shòu bù liǎo chéng shì de xī rǎng.
He likes peace and quiet and can't stand the hustle and bustle of the city.

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.

巸灬熙

Meaning part形符xíngfú

灬Written in full as火huǒfire

Sound part声符shēngfú

巸

巸yí熙xī

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

熙 combines 巸, which gives the sound, with 灬, the bottom form of 火 (fire).

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.