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轻飘飘 (qīng piāo piāo) — light and buoyant, floating; (figuratively) light-headed, carefree, or frivolous

Definition

A vivid reduplication for 'light and buoyant' — physically (feathers, clouds) or figuratively ('carefree' or, with a negative edge, 'flippant, frivolous' in tone or speech).

bound form
light and buoyantfloating(figuratively) light-headedcarefreeor frivolous

Examples

  • 轻飘飘。
    Zhè piàn yǔ máo qīng piāo piāo dì piāo zài kōng zhōng.
    This feather floats lightly in the air.
  • ，轻飘飘。
    Hē le jǐ bēi jiǔ hòu, tā gǎn jué zhěng gè rén dōu qīng piāo piāo de.
    After a few drinks, he felt light-headed all over.
  • 轻飘飘，。
    Tā shuō huà zǒng shì qīng piāo piāo de, ràng rén bú tài fàng xīn.
    She always speaks in a frivolous way, which makes people uneasy.

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.

轻qīnglight
飘飘floating
飘piāo飘piāo
重叠Reduplication

轻 means light, and 飘飘 adds a sense of floating.

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 →

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 飄; 飘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
風風fēngwind
Sound part声符shēngfú
票
票piào飄piāo
Same sound today

The traditional form 飄 uses 票 for the sound and 風 for wind; the simplified 飘 is a shorthand.

Open 飘 →

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 飄; 飘 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
風風fēngwind
Sound part声符shēngfú
票
票piào飄piāo
Same sound today

The traditional form 飄 uses 票 for the sound and 風 for wind; the simplified 飘 is a shorthand.

Open 飘 →
Appears in
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