胖 (pàng) — fat; plump (referring to a person's body)

Definition

Used for people: 'fat, plump.' Unlike 肥胖 (HSK 6, formal/medical) and 肥 (for animals, meat, soil), 胖 is the everyday, neutral word for a person's body — can sound sensitive, so use with care.

adjective

fatplump (referring to a person's body)

Easily confused

Examples

胖。
Nǐ zuì jìn yǒu diǎn pàng le.
You've gotten a bit fat recently.
胖，。
Tā tài pàng le, xū yào duō yùn dòng.
He's too fat; he needs to exercise more.
胖。
Wǒ bù xǐ huan bié rén shuō wǒ pàng.
I don't like others calling me fat.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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ròu

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

半bàn胖pán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胖 pairs 肉, which relates to flesh or the body, with 半, which gives a clue to the sound.

Appears in

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