腾 (téng) — to make room; to clear out; to vacate; (bound form) to gallop; to prance; to soar; (verb suffix) indicating repeated or agitated action (as in 折腾, 倒腾)
Definition
腾 (téng) is mainly used in set words like 腾空, 腾飞, 折腾. In modern use 腾出 means 'to make room / vacate' — a neutral everyday verb. The galloping/soaring sense is literary and bound.
verb
to make roomto clear outto vacate(verb suffix) indicating repeated or agitated action (as in 折腾, 倒腾)
bound form
to gallopto pranceto soar
Easily confused
Examples
- 。Wǒ men téng chū yì diǎn shí jiān lái kāi huì.We'll make a little time to have a meeting.
- 。Fēi jī téng kōng ér qǐ.The plane soared into the sky.
- 。Jiāng shuǐ zài fān téng.The river water is seething and churning.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 騰; 腾 is its simplified writing.
Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
朕
朕zhèn騰téng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional form 騰 pairs 馬 (horse) with 朕 as a sound part; it described a horse's gallop or prance. The simplified 腾 is a later shorthand.
Appears in
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