陨落 (yǔn luò) — (of a celestial body) to fall from the sky; (fi… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary verb: a celestial body falling from the sky, or figuratively a great person passing away. Far more formal and dramatic than everyday words like 死 or 去世.

verb

(of a celestial body) to fall from the sky(figurative, of a great person) to pass away

Examples

陨落。
Nà kē liú xīng zài yè kōng zhōng yǔn luò le.
That meteor fell in the night sky.
陨落。
Yí dài jù xīng yǔn luò le.
A superstar of a generation has fallen.
陨落。
Zhè wèi wěi rén zài zuó tiān yǔn luò le.
This great person passed away yesterday.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

陨 and 落 both mean to fall, together describing a fall from the sky or a great person's death.

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 隕; 陨 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

𨸏𨸏𨸏

Sound part声符shēngfú

員

員yuán隕yǔn

Same sound today

The traditional form 隕 combines 𨸏 with the sound component 員; the simplified 陨 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

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

艹洛落

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

洛

洛luò落luò

Same sound today

落 pairs 艹 with 洛; 洛 gives the sound, and 艹 relates to the meaning.

Appears in

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