飞舞 (fēi wǔ) — to dance or flutter in the air

Definition

A vivid verb for things that 'dance or flutter in the air' — butterflies, snow, leaves, flags caught by wind. Poetic register, more literary than the plain verb 飞.

verb
to dance or flutter in the air

Examples

  • 飞舞。
    Hú dié zài huā cóng zhōng fēi wǔ.
    Butterflies danced among the flowers.
  • 飞舞，。
    Xuě huā zài kōng zhōng fēi wǔ, xiàng bái sè de jīng líng.
    Snowflakes fluttered in the air like white spirits.
  • 飞舞。
    Guó qí zài fēng zhōng gāo gāo fēi wǔ.
    The national flag flew high in the wind.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

飞fēifly
舞wǔdance

Fly and dance combine to mean fluttering movement in the air.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →

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
舛舛chuǎnsteps, feet in convergent direction
Sound part声符shēngfú
無
無wú舞wǔ
Same sound today

舞 combines 舛, showing feet in converging steps, with 無 above. 無 gave the sound and also preserved its older meaning of dancing, so the shape points to dancing.

Open 舞 →

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