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闪烁 (shǎn shuò) — to flicker, to twinkle (of light or reflection); to be evasive, to hedge (in speech, often in 闪烁其词)

Definition

As a verb of light, 闪烁 means 'to flicker/twinkle' (stars, lamps). The fixed phrase 闪烁其词 means to speak evasively — close to 含糊 and 吞吞吐吐, but 闪烁其词 is a set idiom for hedging speech, not a general adjective.

verb
to flickerto twinkle (of light or reflection)to be evasiveto hedge (in speech, often in 闪烁其词)

Examples

  • 闪烁。
    Yè kōng zhōng xīng xing zài shǎn shuò zhe.
    Stars are twinkling in the night sky.
  • 闪烁。
    Nà zhǎn dēng yì zhí zài shǎn shuò.
    That lamp has been flickering all along.
  • 闪烁。
    Tā shuō huà zǒng shì shǎn shuò qí cí.
    He always speaks evasively.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

闪shǎnflash
烁shuòglitter

'闪' means to flash and '烁' means to glitter, together describing light flickering.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 閃; 闪 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional 閃, 人 (person) appears inside 門 (gate), showing a person running through a gate. The simplified 闪 is a later shorthand.

Open 闪 →

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 爍; 烁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
火火huǒfire
Sound part声符shēngfú
樂
樂lè爍
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 爍 combines 火 (fire) with 樂, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 烁 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 烁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Communication & SpeechSenses

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