荒诞 (huāng dàn) — absurd; preposterous; fantastic | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

荒诞 (huāngdàn) means 'absurd' in the sense of defying logic or reason — applied to plots, ideas, or situations. Sharper than 荒唐 (which can also describe dissolute behavior) and more 'unreasonable' than the wonder-focused 不可思议.

adjective

absurdpreposterousfantastic

Examples

荒诞，。
Zhè ge diàn yǐng de qíng jié tài huāng dàn le, wán quán bù fú hé luó ji.
The plot of this movie is too absurd — it completely defies logic.
荒诞？
Nǐ bù jué dé tā de shuō fǎ hěn huāng dàn ma?
Don't you think what he said is preposterous?
荒诞。
Zhè zhǒng huāng dàn de xiǎng fǎ zhǐ yǒu tā cái huì tí chū lái.
Only he would come up with such a fantastic idea.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

荒huāngabsurd

The absurdity of 荒 and 诞 blends into 'preposterous'.

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.

艹巟荒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

巟

巟huāng荒huāng

Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

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 誕; 诞 is its simplified writing.

言延誕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánword, speech

Sound part声符shēngfú

延

延yán誕dàn

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

The traditional form 誕 combines 言 (word, speech) with 延, which gives the sound; the simplified 诞 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Abstract Concepts

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