顾影 (gù yǐng) — to be narcissistic; to have an inflated opinion of oneself

Definition

Literary compound (from 顾影自怜) meaning 'to gaze at one's own shadow' — i.e., to be vain or self-absorbed. Used in writing to describe narcissistic self-admiration.

verb
to be narcissisticto have an inflated opinion of oneself

Examples

  • 顾影，。
    Tā zhěng tiān gù yǐng, tīng bú jìn yí jù pī píng.
    He spends all day admiring himself and can't take a single piece of criticism.
  • 顾影。
    Zhè zhǒng gù yǐng de xí guàn huì ràng rén yuè lái yuè gū dān.
    This habit of narcissism will make a person more and more lonely.
  • 顾影，。
    Tā tài gù yǐng le, lián jìng zi dōu yào fǎn fù zhào.
    He's so narcissistic that he has to keep looking in the mirror over and over.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

顾gùlook at
影yǐngshadow

顾 means look at and 影 means shadow, so gazing at one's own shadow suggests self-absorption.

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 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →

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
彡彡shān
Sound part声符shēngfú
景
景jǐng影yǐng
Same sound today

影 pairs 景, which gives the sound and also carries the idea of image, with 彡, the part that points to shadow.

Open 影 →

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