隆 (lōng) — (onomatopoeia) the sound of drums; rumble, boom

Definition

隆 (lōng) is a bound onomatopoeia for the deep rumbling sound of drums — it only appears in reduplicated 隆隆 or 隆然, never alone.

onomatopoeia

the sound of drumsrumbleboom

。
Yuǎn chù chuán lái lōng lōng de gǔ shēng.
The sound of drums came rumbling from afar.
，隆。
Tā qiāo qǐ dà gǔ, lōng rán zuò xiǎng.
He beat the big drum, making a booming sound.
，。
Hūn lǐ shàng gǔ shēng lōng lōng, qì fen rè liè.
At the wedding, the drums rumbled, and the atmosphere was lively.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

降

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

The shape of 隆 is made from 生 and 降, with 降 giving the sound; an older part was later dropped.

Appears in