TongTong
Sign in

肤浅 (fū qiǎn) — superficial, shallow

Definition

肤浅 (fūqiǎn) means 'superficial' in a figurative sense — describes thinking, knowledge, or character that lacks depth. 浅 by itself is concrete (shallow water, light color); 肤浅 is only for ideas or people.

adjective
superficialshallow

Examples

  • 肤浅。
    Tā de kàn fǎ hěn fū qiǎn.
    His view is very superficial.
  • ，肤浅。
    Bú yào zhī píng wài biǎo jiù pàn duàn bié rén, nà tài fū qiǎn le.
    Don't judge others only by their appearance; that's too superficial.
  • 肤浅，。
    Zhè běn shū de nèi róng bǐ jiào fū qiǎn, méi yǒu shēn rù tǎo lùn.
    The content of this book is relatively superficial, without in-depth discussion.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

肤fūsurface
浅qiǎnshallow

肤 (surface) and 浅 (shallow) together describe knowledge as shallow and not deep.

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
肉肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
夫
夫fū肤fū
Same sound today

The shape of 肤 comes from 肉, flesh, plus 夫, which gives the sound.

Open 肤 →

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 淺; 浅 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān淺qiǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 淺 pairs 氵 (water) with 戔 to give the sound; 浅 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 浅 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.