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翻车 (fān chē) — to overturn (a vehicle); (figurative, internet slang) to fail; to have a major setback

Definition

Literally 'to overturn (a vehicle)', now widely used online as slang meaning 'to fail spectacularly or have a major setback' — much stronger than just 失败.

verb
to overturn (a vehicle)(figurative, internet slang) to failto have a major setback

Examples

  • 翻车。
    Nà liàng kǎ chē zài lù shang fān chē le.
    That truck overturned on the road.
  • 翻车。
    Tā de zhí bō yòu fān chē le.
    His livestream failed again (went wrong).
  • 。
    Tā zuò zhè ge xiàng mù fān guò yí cì chē.
    He had a major setback on this project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

翻fānoverturn
车chēvehicle

翻 means overturn, and 车 is the vehicle that overturns.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 車; 车 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 車 was drawn as a carriage seen from above, with wheels on both sides and a shaft at the front; the simplified 车 is a later shorthand.

Open 车 →
Appears in
Roads & TrafficVehicles

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