碰面 (pèng miàn) — to meet up; to run into each other | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A separable verb (离合词): 碰 and 面 split for aspect/measure, as in 碰过一次面. Means meeting up with someone, usually by arrangement or by chance.

verb

to meet upto run into each other

Examples

碰面。
Wǒ men míng tiān zài kā fēi tīng pèng miàn ba.
Let's meet at the café tomorrow.
。
Wǒ gēn tā zhī pèng guò yí cì miàn.
I've only met him once.
碰面。
Zuó tiān wǒ zài jiē shàng ǒu rán gēn tā pèng miàn le.
Yesterday I happened to run into her on the street.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

碰 gives the meeting or bumping, and 面 gives the face encountered.

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.

石並碰

Meaning part形符xíngfú

石石shírock

Sound part声符shēngfú

並

並bìng碰pèng

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

碰 is built from 石 (rock) and 並 (bìng); 石 shows the meaning, and 並 shows the sound.

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

面 originally drew a man’s face, with one eye exaggerated; the horizontal stroke was added later.

Appears in

Friends & Social

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