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陌生 (mò shēng) — unfamiliar, strange (not known or not experienced before)

Definition

陌生 means a place, person, or thing is 'unfamiliar / unknown to you' — you have no prior experience with it. 奇怪/怪/古怪/怪异 describe something odd or weird, not something you simply don't know.

adjective
unfamiliarstrange (not known or not experienced before)

Examples

  • 陌生。
    Tā duì zhè ge chéng shì hái hěn mò shēng.
    He is still unfamiliar with this city.
  • 陌生，。
    Zhè ge rén de míng zì hěn mò shēng, wǒ méi tīng guò.
    This person's name is very unfamiliar; I haven't heard it.
  • 陌生。
    Zài mò shēng de dì fāng yào xiǎo xīn.
    Be careful in unfamiliar places.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

陌mòunfamiliar
生shēngunfamiliar

陌 and 生 both convey unfamiliarity, giving the sense of strange or unknown.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
百
百bǎi陌mò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

陌 is built from 阝 on the left, the side form of 阜, and 百 on the right, which gives the sound.

Open 陌 →

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →
Appears in
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