远近闻名 (yuǎn jìn wén míng) — to be known far and wide, to be widely known | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A set phrase meaning 'famous near and far' — stronger than 闻名 ('well-known'), and more literary than the colloquial 大名鼎鼎.

phrase

to be known far and wideto be widely known

Examples

远近闻名。
Tā de huà yuǎn jìn wén míng.
His paintings are known far and wide.
远近闻名。
Nà ge xiǎo zhèn yǐ wēn quán yuǎn jìn wén míng.
That small town is famous for its hot springs.
远近闻名，。
Zhè wèi zuò jiā yuǎn jìn wén míng, zuò pǐn hěn shòu huān yíng.
This writer is known far and wide, and his works are very popular.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

远近far and near

远yuǎnfar近jìnnear

联合Coordinate

闻名hear name

闻wénhear名míngname

动宾Verb + object

远近 covers far and near places, while 闻 means hear and 名 means name, so the name is heard everywhere.

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.

辶元远

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

元

元yuán远yuǎn

Same sound today

远 combines 辶, meaning walk, with 元, used for its sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

辶斤近

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

斤

斤jīn近jìn

Same sound today

近 combines 辶, a walking radical, with 斤, which gives the sound. The walking part fits the idea of moving close to something.

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 聞; 闻 is its simplified writing.

門耳聞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

門

門mén聞wén

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 聞, 門 supplies the sound and 耳 is an ear; this explanation is about 聞, not the simplified 闻.

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

夕口名

夕夕xīcrescent moon
口口kǒumouth

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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