鲁莽 (lǔ mǎng) — reckless, impulsive, hot-headed

Definition

鲁莽 describes a person or their actions as reckless and impulsive, jumping in without thinking. It emphasizes rashness in behavior; 冲动 is the momentary urge itself, 任性 is willful self-indulgence.

adjective

recklessimpulsivehot-headed

Examples

鲁莽，。
Tā zuò shì zǒng shì hěn lǔ mǎng, bù kǎo lǜ hòu guǒ.
He always does things recklessly, without considering the consequences.
鲁莽，。
Bié nà me lǔ mǎng, xiān tīng wǒ shuō wán.
Don't be so reckless; listen to me finish first.
鲁莽。
Tā yīn wèi lǔ mǎng de jué dìng chī le dà kuī.
He suffered greatly because of a reckless decision.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

鲁lǔcrude

莽mǎngrash

鲁 conveys crudeness and 莽 conveys rashness, together describing reckless behavior.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魯; 鲁 is its simplified writing.

魚魚yúfish
口口kǒumouth

The traditional form 魯 pairs 魚 (fish) and 口 (mouth) to show fish entering the mouth, giving the sense delicious/excellent. The simplified 鲁 is a later shorthand, not the original picture.

Open 鲁 →

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

犬犬quǎn

Sound part声符shēngfú

茻

茻mǎng莽mǎng

Same sound today

莽 combines 茻, used for its sound, with 犬, a dog.

Open 莽 →

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Personality & Traits