雅观 (yǎ guān) — refined, tasteful (of appearance, behavior, or manners)

Definition

Used to judge whether an appearance or behavior is tasteful and presentable in public. Usually appears negated (不雅观) to criticize something that looks unseemly or embarrassing.

adjective
refinedtasteful (of appearance, behavior, or manners)

Examples

  • 雅观，。
    Nǐ zhè yàng chuān hěn bù yǎ guān, hái shì huàn yí jiàn ba.
    You're dressed very unrefined like that — better change.
  • 雅观。
    Zài gōng gòng chǎng hé dà shēng xuān huá fēi cháng bù yǎ guān.
    It's very unrefined to shout loudly in public places.
  • 雅观。
    Tā jǔ shǒu tóu zú dōu xiǎn de hěn yǎ guān.
    His every gesture and movement seems very refined.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

雅yǎelegant
观guānappearance

雅 gives elegance, and 观 names the look or appearance.

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
隹隹zhuīa short-tailed bird
Sound part声符shēngfú
牙
牙yá雅yǎ
Same sound today

雅 pairs 隹, a short-tailed bird, with 牙 as its sound part; the bird was a rook/crow, and the sense was extended to refined.

Open 雅 →

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 觀; 观 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
雚
雚guàn觀guān
Same sound today

The traditional form 觀 uses 見 (see) for meaning and 雚 for sound.

Open 观 →

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