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隆隆 (lóng lóng) — (onomatopoeia) rumble, boom (of thunder, machinery, gunfire)

Definition

Onomatopoeia for a deep, heavy rumble — thunder, artillery, or large machinery. Always reduplicated and typically modifies a noun (隆隆的雷声) rather than standing alone.

onomatopoeia
rumbleboom (of thunder, machinery, gunfire)

Examples

  • 隆隆。
    Yuǎn chù chuán lái lóng lóng de léi shēng.
    The rumble of thunder came from afar.
  • 隆隆。
    Jī qì lóng lóng dì xiǎng le yì zhěng yè.
    The machine rumbled all night long.
  • 隆隆，。
    Pào shēng lóng lóng, zhèn dé dà dì dōu zài chàn dòng.
    The artillery boomed, shaking the whole ground.

Origin

Single-morpheme word
构词法gòucífǎ
拟声nǐshēngOnomatopoeia

The characters imitate a sound; their individual meanings play no part.

隆lóng
隆lóng

隆隆 only imitates a low rolling sound; 隆 alone has no separate meaning here.

Sound-only characters

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
生生shēng
Sound part声符shēngfú
降
降jiàng隆lóng
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.

Open 隆 →

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
生生shēng
Sound part声符shēngfú
降
降jiàng隆lóng
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.

Open 隆 →
Appears in
Weather

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