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空荡荡 (kōng dàng dàng) — (of a place) empty, deserted; (of one's heart or mind) empty, hollow

Definition

Describes a visible emptiness — a deserted room, street, or a hollow feeling inside. For emotional/spiritual emptiness prefer 空虚; for unfrequented places 冷落 is closer to 'desolate'.

adjective
(of a place) emptydeserted(of one's heart or mind) emptyhollow

Examples

  • 空荡荡，。
    Zhěng tiáo jiē kōng dàng dàng de, yí gè rén yě méi yǒu.
    The whole street is empty, without a single person.
  • ，空荡荡。
    Tā lí kāi hòu, wǒ xīn lǐ kōng dàng dàng de.
    After he left, I felt empty inside.
  • ，，空荡荡。
    Zhè ge fáng jiān suī rán hěn dà, dàn jiā jù hěn shǎo, kàn qǐ lái kōng dàng dàng de.
    The room is very large, but there is little furniture, so it looks empty.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

空kōngempty
荡荡suffix
荡dàng荡dàng
重叠Reduplication

The sense of 空 is reinforced by 荡荡, making a place feel wide and hollow.

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
穴穴xuécave, hole
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng空kōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

空 is built from 穴, a cave or hole, and 工, which gives the sound.

Open 空 →

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 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →

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 蕩; 荡 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 荡 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 蕩; in others it is 盪.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
湯
湯tāng蕩dàng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

About the traditional form 蕩: it is made of 艹 (grass, written fully as 艸) and 湯, which gives the sound. The simplified 荡 is only a later shorthand.

Open 荡 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Appearance

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