玩物 (wán wù) — plaything, toy | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary word for a 'plaything' — an object (or person) treated as mere amusement. At HSK 7 it most often appears in the idiom 玩物丧志 ('indulging in trivialities destroys one's ambition').

noun

playthingtoy

Measure word · 个

Examples

，。
Xiǎo hái zi dōu xǐ huan wán wán wù, dàn yě yào zhù yì shí jiān.
Kids all like to play with toys, but you also need to watch the time.
玩物。
Tā yīn wèi chén mí yú wán wù ér huāng fèi le shì yè.
He neglected his career because he was addicted to playthings.
玩物，。
Zhè xiē wán wù suī rán jīng měi, dàn jià gé áng guì.
Although these playthings are exquisite, their price is expensive.

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.

'玩' gives the sense of playing or amusement, and '物' means thing, so together they name a plaything.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

玉玉yùjade

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

元yuán玩wán

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

玩 pairs 玉 (jade) with 元 (yuán) for sound. The jade part points to toys made of jade.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

牛勿物

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

勿

勿wù物wù

Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Appears in

Games & Puzzles

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