胡言 (hú yán) — nonsense; raving | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

胡言 (hú yán) is a formal/written noun for 'nonsense' or 'ravings' — stronger and more literary than the colloquial 废话. Almost always appears in set phrases like 胡说八道 or 一派胡言.

noun

nonsenseraving

Examples

胡言，。
Tā shuō de quán shì hú yán, nǐ bié xìn.
Everything he said is nonsense; don't believe him.
胡言，。
Bié zài tīng tā de hú yán le, làng fèi shí jiān.
Stop listening to his nonsense; it's a waste of time.
胡言，。
Zhè piān wén zhāng chōng mǎn hú yán, háo wú jià zhí.
This article is full of nonsense and has no value.

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.

胡húreckless

胡 reckless and 言 words together suggest reckless talk.

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

⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

古gǔ胡hú

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The early form of 言 shows an opening and a mark indicating a location; the location is not described as the source of speech.

Appears in

Communication & Speech

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