靠拢 (kào lǒng) — to draw close to, to move closer (physically or… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

靠拢 means to draw close or converge — physical or figurative (views, sides). 靠近 is the plain everyday 'approach'; 逼近 is more forceful, often with threats or pressure.

verb

to draw close toto move closer (physically or figuratively)

Examples

靠拢。
Liǎng liàng chē màn màn kào lǒng le.
The two cars slowly drew close to each other.
靠拢。
Tā men de guān diǎn zhú jiàn kào lǒng.
Their viewpoints gradually converged.
靠拢。
Qǐng xiàng yòu biān kào lǒng yì xiē.
Please move a bit closer to the right.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

靠kàoapproach

靠 approaching with 拢 gathering gives the idea of drawing close together.

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.

告非靠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

告

告gào靠kào

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靠 is made of 告 and 非: 告 gives the sound, and 非 gives the meaning.

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 攏; 拢 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

手手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

龍

龍lóng攏lǒng

Same sound today

The traditional form 攏 combines 手 (hand) with 龍 for sound; the simplified 拢 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical 龍.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6

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