鸣响 (míng xiǎng) — to ring, to peal (of bells, alarms, etc.); to boom, to roar (of guns, thunder, etc.)

Definition

Used mainly for loud, resonant sounds — bells, alarms, guns, thunder. Unlike 响 (xiǎng) which is the everyday word for any sound, 鸣响 emphasizes a deep, resonant ring or boom.

verb
to ringto peal (of bells, alarms, etc.)to boomto roar (of guns, thunder, etc.)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 鸣响，。
    Jǐng bào tū rán míng xiǎng qǐ lái, dà jiā dōu xià le yí tiào.
    The alarm suddenly went off, and everyone was startled.
  • 鸣响。
    Yuǎn chù chuán lái lǐ pào de míng xiǎng shēng.
    The boom of the ceremonial guns came from afar.
  • 鸣响，。
    Shàng kè líng míng xiǎng le, tóng xué men dōu pǎo jìn jiào shì.
    The class bell rang, and the students all ran into the classroom.

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.

鸣míngring
响xiǎngsound

鸣 and 响 both describe sounding, so together they mean to peal or boom.

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 鳴; 鸣 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 鳴 combines 口 (mouth) and 鳥 (bird) to show a bird crying.

Open 鸣 →

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 響; 响 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
音音yīnsound
Sound part声符shēngfú
鄉
鄉xiāng響xiǎng
Same sound today

The traditional form 響 pairs 音, meaning sound, with 鄉 to give its pronunciation. The simplified 响 is a later shorthand, so its visible parts are not the historical parts.

Open 响 →

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