莽撞 (mǎng zhuàng) — impetuous, rash; rough, uncultured (in manner)

Definition

Adjective meaning 'rash, impetuous' — focuses on acting without thinking, a stronger, more negative word than 冲动 (impulsive, often neutral).

adjective
impetuousrashroughuncultured (in manner)

Examples

  • 莽撞，。
    Tā zuò shì hěn mǎng zhuàng, cóng lái bù zǐ xì kǎo lǜ.
    He does things very rashly, never carefully considering.
  • 莽撞，。
    Tā de yán xíng yǒu xiē mǎng zhuàng, ràng rén jué de bú tài lǐ mào.
    His words and actions are a bit rough, making people feel not very polite.
  • 莽撞，。
    Bié nà me mǎng zhuàng, xiān tīng tīng dà jiā de yì jiàn.
    Don't be so impetuous, first listen to everyone's opinions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

莽mǎngrough
撞zhuàngcollide

莽 carries a sense of roughness, and 撞 suggests colliding or bumping, so together they describe impetuous behaviour.

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
茻
茻mǎng莽mǎng
Same sound today

莽 combines 茻, used for its sound, with 犬, a dog.

Open 莽 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
童
童tóng撞zhuàng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 扌 is the hand radical, written in full as 手, and the right side 童 supplies the sound.

Open 撞 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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