输光 (shū guāng) — lose all, lose everything | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A resultative verb meaning 'to lose all/everything' (e.g., 输光了钱, 输光了家产). 输 alone means just 'to lose', often a single round or game; 输光 emphasizes losing every last bit.

verb

lose alllose everything

Examples

输光。
Tā shū guāng le suǒ yǒu de cún kuǎn.
He lost all his savings.
输光。
Zhè cì shī bài ràng tā shū guāng le quán bù cái chǎn.
This failure caused him to lose all his property.
输光。
Tā yīn wèi dǔ bó shū guāng le zuì hòu yì fēn qián.
He lost his last cent because of gambling.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

光guāngall gone

输 means lose and 光 means all gone, so the sense is to lose everything.

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 輸; 输 is its simplified writing.

車俞輸

Meaning part形符xíngfú

車車jū

Sound part声符shēngfú

俞

俞yú輸shū

Same sound today

The traditional form 輸 pairs 車 (vehicle) with 俞 for sound; 車 shows the meaning.

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

火火huǒfire
卩卩jiékneeling person

The shape 光 places 火 (fire) above 卩 (a kneeling person), showing fire over the head and the shining of light.

Appears in

Gambling & Chance

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