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轻盈 (qīng yíng) — light and graceful (in movement or appearance); lighthearted, relaxed (in mood or tone)

Definition

Literary adjective: 'light and graceful' for movement, fabric, or figures. More elegant and written than everyday 轻; a lighthearted mood is a secondary, looser use.

adjective
light and graceful (in movement or appearance)lightheartedrelaxed (in mood or tone)

Examples

  • 轻盈，。
    Tā de wǔ bù fēi cháng qīng yíng, xiàng hú dié yí yàng.
    Her dance steps are very light and graceful, like a butterfly.
  • 轻盈，。
    Zhè jiàn qún zi cái zhì qīng yíng, chuān qǐ lái hěn shū fu.
    This dress is made of light fabric and feels very comfortable to wear.
  • 轻盈，。
    Tā shuō huà de yǔ qì qīng yíng yōu mò, dà jiā dōu hěn xǐ huan.
    His tone of voice is lighthearted and humorous, so everyone likes him.

Origin

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 輕; 轻 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jūcarriage
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng輕qīng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輕 pairs 車, a carriage, with 巠 to give the sound; it originally named a light carriage. The simplified 轻 is only a later shorthand.

Open 轻 →

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

  • 夃夃gǔ
  • 皿皿mǐnvessel

盈 combines 夃 and 皿 (vessel), but the meaning of 夃 is unclear, so the full origin of the shape is uncertain.

Open 盈 →
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