纷飞 (fēn fēi) — (of snow, petals, leaves, etc.) to swirl about; to flutter in all directions

Definition

纷飞 (fēnfēi) is used for light things — snow, petals, leaves, smoke — scattering and fluttering through the air in many directions at once.

verb
(of snow, petals, leaves, etc.) to swirl aboutto flutter in all directions

Examples

  • Chuāng wài dà xuě fēn fēi, yí piàn bái máng máng de shì jiè.
    Outside the window, heavy snow was swirling about, creating a vast white world.
  • 纷飞
    Chūn tiān lái le, huā bàn fēn fēi, měi jí le.
    Spring has come, and the flower petals are fluttering about — it's extremely beautiful.
  • 纷飞
    Zhàn chǎng shàng xiāo yān fēn fēi, zhàn shì men fèn yǒng qián jìn.
    On the battlefield, smoke was swirling about as the soldiers bravely advanced.

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.

fēnmany/confused

纷 'in many directions/confused' describes how 飞 'flies'.

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 紛; 纷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Sound part声符shēngfú
fēnfēn
Same sound today

The form 紛 is built from 糸, a meaning part, and 分, a sound part.

Open 纷 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →
Appears in

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