颤 (chàn) — bound form meaning to tremble, to quiver, to vibrate

Definition

Bound form meaning 'to tremble, quiver, vibrate.' In practice it appears as part of compound words like 颤抖, 颤动, and 颤音 rather than standing alone.

bound form
bound form meaning to trembleto quiverto vibrate

Examples

  • 。
    Tā lěng dé chàn dǒu qǐ lái.
    He was so cold that he started shivering.
  • 。
    Zhè shǒu gē yǒu hěn duō chàn yīn.
    This song has a lot of trills.
  • 。
    Dì zhèn ràng dì miàn chàn dòng qǐ lái.
    The earthquake made the ground vibrate.

Origin

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顫; 颤 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
亶
亶dǎn顫chàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 顫, 頁 shows the head and 亶 supplies the sound; the simplified 颤 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original components.

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