黑压压 (hēi yā yā) — (adjective) densely packed and dark; a dark and…

Definition

A vivid, reduplicated adjective for a dark, dense mass (clouds, crowds, insects) that feels heavy and oppressive. Almost always describes appearance, not a state of mind.

adjective

densely packed and darka dark and oppressive mass (of clouds, crowds, etc.)

Examples

黑压压，。
Tiān kōng wū yún hēi yā yā de, kuài yào xià yǔ le.
The sky was covered with dark, oppressive clouds — it's about to rain.
黑压压。
Guǎng chǎng shàng hēi yā yā dì zhàn mǎn le rén.
The square was packed with a dense, dark crowd of people.
黑压压。
Yuǎn chù fēi lái hēi yā yā de yí piàn huáng chóng.
A dense, dark swarm of locusts flew over from afar.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

Open 黑 →

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 壓; 压 is its simplified writing.

厭土壓

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔdust

Sound part声符shēngfú

厭

厭yàn壓yā

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 壓 is built from 土, dust, and 厭, which gives the sound; 压 is the simplified form of 壓.

Open 压 →