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爽约 (shuǎng yuē) — to break an appointment; to fail to keep a promise

Definition

爽约 means to break or skip an appointment you had committed to — stronger than 迟到 (late) because the person never showed up. Often pairs with 赴约 'to keep an appointment' as its natural opposite.

verb
to break an appointmentto fail to keep a promise

Examples

  • 爽约，。
    Tā zuó tiān yòu shuǎng yuē le, ràng dà jiā děng le hěn jiǔ.
    He broke his appointment again yesterday, keeping everyone waiting for a long time.
  • ，。
    Zhè cì tā shuǎng le yuē, zài yě méi yǒu rén yuàn yì xiāng xìn tā le.
    This time he broke his promise, and no one is willing to trust him anymore.
  • ，爽约。
    Jì rán dā ying le jiù yīng gāi zuò dào, bù néng suí biàn shuǎng yuē.
    If you've promised, you should keep it; you can't just break it casually.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

爽shuǎngfail to keep
约yuēappointment

爽 conveys failing to keep and 约 the appointment, together meaning breaking an appointment.

Characters in this word

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

爽 is written by combining 大 and 㸚 to mean bright.

Open 爽 →

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 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementFriends & Social

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