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过多 (guò duō) — to be excessive; too many/much

Definition

A verb-adjective meaning 'to be excessive' or 'too many/much,' used as a predicate or modifier (过多的工作压力). It stresses that a quantity crosses a normal or healthy limit.

verb
to be excessivetoo many/much

Examples

  • 过多。
    Chī dé guò duō duì shēn tǐ bù hǎo.
    Eating too much is bad for health.
  • 过多。
    guò duō De gōng zuò yā lì huì dǎo zhì jiàn kāng wèn tí.
    Excessive work pressure can lead to health problems.
  • 过多。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de rén kǒu guò duō.
    This city's population is excessive.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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

多 originally showed two pieces of meat placed together; the repeated meat shape gives the sense of many.

Open 多 →
Appears in
Quantity & Amount

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