TongTong
Sign in

贪欲 (tān yù) — greed; avarice; rapacity

Definition

Greed as an inner desire or craving — a more literary word for the concept. Differs from 贪婪, which is an adjective describing a greedy person.

noun
greedavaricerapacity

Examples

  • 贪欲。
    Tā yīn wèi tān yù ér shī qù le suǒ yǒu de péng you.
    He lost all his friends because of greed.
  • 贪欲，。
    tān yù Ràng rén yǒng yuǎn bù mǎn zú, zǒng xiǎng dé dào gèng duō.
    Greed makes people never satisfied, always wanting more.
  • 贪欲。
    Kòng zhì zì jǐ de tān yù shì xiū shēn de zhòng yào yí bù.
    Controlling one's greed is an important step in self-cultivation.

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.

贪tāncovetous
欲yùdesire

贪 expresses covetousness, and 欲 means desire, so the word denotes greedy desire or avarice.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貪; 贪 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney
Sound part声符shēngfú
今
今jīn貪tān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貪 places 今 (open mouth) above 貝 (money); 今 gives the sound, and 貝 relates to the meaning. 贪 is the simplified shorthand.

Open 贪 →

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
欠欠qiàn
Sound part声符shēngfú
谷
谷gǔ欲yù
Same sound today

欲 is made of 谷, which supplies the sound, and 欠, which relates to the meaning.

Open 欲 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.