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破破烂烂 (pò pò làn làn) — tattered, shabby, dilapidated (vivid reduplicated form)

Definition

A vivid, colloquial reduplicated form meaning 'tattered and shabby' — more emphatic and informal than plain 破烂, used for clothes, houses, or things falling apart.

bound form
tatteredshabbydilapidated (vivid reduplicated form)

Examples

  • 破破烂烂，。
    Tā chuān zhuó yí jiàn pò pò làn làn de yī fu, kàn qǐ lái hěn jiǔ méi huàn le.
    He was wearing a tattered shirt that looked like it hadn't been changed in a long time.
  • 破破烂烂，。
    Zhè dòng lǎo fáng zi yǐ jīng pò pò làn làn, méi rén yuàn yì zhù.
    This old house is already dilapidated; no one wants to live in it.
  • 破破烂烂。
    Nà xiē pò pò làn làn de wán jù dōu bèi rēng diào le.
    Those shabby toys were all thrown away.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

破破broken
破pòbroken破pòbroken
烂烂tattered
烂làntattered烂làntattered

The repeated 破 and 烂 intensify brokenness and tatteredness into a vivid shabby state.

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

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
石石shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí破pò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

破 has 石 (stone) as its meaning part and 皮 as its sound part.

Open 破 →

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 爛; 烂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán爛làn
Same sound today

The form 爛 pairs 火 (fire) with 闌 as the sound part; this explains 爛, not the simplified 烂.

Open 烂 →

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 爛; 烂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
闌
闌lán爛làn
Same sound today

The form 爛 pairs 火 (fire) with 闌 as the sound part; this explains 爛, not the simplified 烂.

Open 烂 →
Appears in
Good & BadTexture & Quality

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