疯长 (fēng cháng) — excessive growth (of plants); spindling

Definition

Refers to plants growing too fast or too tall, often thin and weak (spindly). Used for unwanted, excessive plant growth rather than healthy development.

noun
excessive growth (of plants)spindling

Examples

  • 疯长。
    Zhè zhǒng zá cǎo de fēng cháng yǐng xiǎng le nóng zuò wù de shēng zhǎng.
    The overgrowth of this weed affects crop growth.
  • ，疯长。
    Yóu yú guāng zhào bù zú, zhí wù chū xiàn le fēng cháng xiàn xiàng.
    Due to insufficient light, the plants showed spindling.
  • 疯长。
    Huā yuán lǐ de fēng cháng xū yào jí shí xiū jiǎn.
    The overgrowth in the garden needs timely pruning.

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.

疯fēngwild
长chánggrow

疯 means wild and 长 means grow; together they describe excessive, uncontrolled growth.

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 瘋; 疯 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒Written in full as病bìng
Sound part声符shēngfú
風
風fēng瘋fēng
Same sound today

The traditional form 瘋 pairs 疒 (illness) with 風 as a sound part; the simplified 疯 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not a historical sound part.

Open 疯 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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