翻看 (fān kàn) — to leaf through; to browse through (pages, documents, etc.)

Definition

verb
to leaf throughto browse through (pages, documents, etc.)

Examples

  • 翻看。
    Tā zuò zài shā fā shàng yōu xián de fān kàn zá zhì.
    He sat on the sofa leisurely leafing through a magazine.
  • 翻看。
    Wǒ huā le bàn xiǎo shí fān kàn nà běn xiǎo shuō.
    I spent half an hour flipping through that novel.
  • 翻看。
    Tā zǐ xì dì fān kàn zhe měi yí yè zī liào.
    She carefully leafed through every page of the materials.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

翻fānturn pages
看kànlook

翻 gives turning pages, and 看 gives looking, so the meaning is leafing through.

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
羽羽yǔwings
Sound part声符shēngfú
番
番fān翻fān
Same sound today

翻 pairs 羽 (wings) with 番, which gives the sound. The shape shows something fluttering.

Open 翻 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape 看 puts 手 (hand) over 目 (eye), showing a hand placed above the eyes to gaze into the distance.

Open 看 →

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