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郁郁 (yù yù) — (of vegetation) lush, luxuriant; (of mood) melancholy, gloomy; (of fragrance) rich, strongly fragrant

Definition

A literary bound form that travels with another character (e.g. 郁郁葱葱, 郁郁寡欢, 郁郁芬芳) to describe vivid lushness, deep melancholy, or rich fragrance — never used alone.

bound form
(of vegetation) lushluxuriant(of mood) melancholygloomy(of fragrance) richstrongly fragrant

Examples

  • 郁郁，。
    Zhè piàn sēn lín yù yù cōng cōng, fēi cháng měi lì.
    This forest is lush and verdant, extremely beautiful.
  • 郁郁，。
    Tā zuì jìn xīn qíng yù yù, bù xiǎng gēn rén shuō huà.
    He has been feeling gloomy lately and doesn't want to talk to anyone.
  • 郁郁。
    Huā yuán lǐ piāo lái yù yù de huā xiāng.
    From the garden comes a rich floral fragrance.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
叠音diéyīnRepeated syllable

One syllable written twice as a single unit of meaning; neither half stands alone.

郁yù
郁yù

The two 郁 together form one bound word; the single 郁 does not carry a separate meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鬱; 郁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鬱 shows 林 (forest), 大 (standing person), and 勹 (leaning person), with people hiding in a lush forest; the simplified 郁 is a later abbreviation.

Open 郁 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鬱; 郁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鬱 shows 林 (forest), 大 (standing person), and 勹 (leaning person), with people hiding in a lush forest; the simplified 郁 is a later abbreviation.

Open 郁 →
Appears in
Emotions & FeelingsPlants & Flowers

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