超乎 (chāo hū) — to surpass, to exceed (used in fixed collocations like 超乎想象, 超乎寻常)

Definition

Literary verb meaning 'to exceed, go beyond,' used almost entirely in fixed phrases like 超乎想象 ('beyond imagination') and 超乎寻常 ('out of the ordinary'). Far more formal and written than the everyday 超过.

verb
to surpassto exceed (used in fixed collocations like 超乎想象, 超乎寻常)

Examples

  • 超乎。
    Zhè cì bǐ sài de jīng cǎi chéng dù chāo hū le suǒ yǒu rén de xiǎng xiàng.
    The excitement level of this competition surpassed everyone's imagination.
  • 超乎。
    Tā de chéng gōng wán quán chāo hū le wǒ de yù liào.
    His success completely exceeded my expectations.
  • 超乎。
    Zhè jiàn shì de jié guǒ chāo hū hū xún cháng.
    The outcome of this matter was out of the ordinary.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

超chāosurpass
乎hūsuffix

超 gives the sense of surpassing, and 乎 completes the sense of being beyond.

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
走走zǒurun
Sound part声符shēngfú
召
召zhào超chāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

超 pairs 走, meaning “run,” with 召, which gives the sound.

Open 超 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 丂丂kǎobranch

The old 乎 paired an element for wind or air with 丂, a branch used as a sound part, and was the original form of the word for 'to call; to cry'.

Open 乎 →

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