Mandarin Monday: Conquer These 10 Lesser-Known but Easily Written Chinese Characters
As we know, learning to write Chinese characters involves great patience, lots of memory power, and uncompromising willpower. However, even with those attributes at hand, studying and memorizing more complicated examples can be a real headache for Chinese and foreigners alike.
However, there are also characters that baffle simply because of how uncommon they are in daily language. These are characters that wouldn't often be used in conversation but may crop up in context-specific situations, formal readings, and people's names.
You'll notice that all of the characters below use a similar structuring method: the repeated use of one base character. These examples are called 叠加字 diéjiā zì, which loosely translates to "layered characters."
One of the best-known examples of this, and one that learners tend to encounter first, is that of 木 (mù "wood" or "tree"), 林 (lín "woods"), and 森 (sēn "forest"), with the character 木 multiplying to denote that there is more of it.
There are many words that use this layered technique so as to denote growing complexity. Below are 10 of them and their meanings.
垚 yáo (adj.) - "high"
垚, meaning high, is usually used to describe mountains. Made up of three 土 tǔ, the word is found more commonly in people’s names and relates to the ancient understanding of 五行 wǔ xíng, the Five Elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Those who strike a balance between these five elements are believed to experience improved health and fortune. The calculation of a person's elements is based on the date and time of their birth, and a common solution is to "add" the element that someone lacks via characters in his/her name. Therefore, if you meet someone with the character 垚 in their name, it's more than likely that they have been “diagnosed” as lacking the Earth element.
淼 miǎo (adj.) - vast
Comprised of the three characters for water (水 shuǐ), 淼 means an expanse of water. Similarly to 垚, it’s quite common to see this character in people’s names as an indication of lack of the water element. 淼 is also written as the homophone 渺 which can also mean indistinct or vague, similar to how a vast body of water appears.
毳 cuì (noun) - fine body hair or feathers
Layered from the character 毛 máo “hair,” 毳 refers to the fine hairs on our body or on that of animals and is a synonym for 寒毛 hán máo.
犇 bēn (verb) - awesome
犇 is used to describe the very specific instance in which cattle become frightened and run away. Nowadays it means “running energetically.” Because 牛 in Chinese has also taken on the meaning of “awesome,” 犇 is often used online to designate “super awesome.”
槑 méi (adj.) - silly
The word 槑 originates from Sha'anxi and Henan dialect, where the locals pronounce the word as mū, means “dumb, silly” but in an endearing way. Due to its cute appearance, the word is now used in names to denote the person as a "cutie."
赑 bì (adj.) - hardworking
The base character of 赑, 贝 bèi, means money or a valuable object. However, you'd be wrong if you thought 赑 means a lot of money as it actually designates “strenuous" or "hardworking" i.e. the act of making a lot of money. The word also refers to the Chinese mythical dragon-headed turtle Bixi, who is often depicted in stone at temples around China. Commonly-used phrases including 赑 also include 赑怒 bì nù, meaning very angry, and 赑然 bì rán, meaning big and strong.
掱 pá (noun) - pickpocket
Made up of three 手 shǒu “hand,” 掱 depicts someone so cunning with their hands as to appear that they have three i.e. a pickpocket. Similarly, the Chinese proverb 三只手 sān zhī shǒu “three hands” also means pickpocket.
瞐 mò (adj.) - beautiful eyes
It’s easy to guess that 瞐 relates to eyes given that it's made up of three 目 mù “eye.” Although quite rare, 瞐 is particularly romantic and is used to describe eyes that are deep and beautiful.
孨 zhuǎn (adj.) - lonely and helpless
The word 孨 means “lonely and helpless” and gained popularity when netizens jokingly started to call themselves a member of 孨族 (zhuǎn zú “Three Zi Group”), satirizing the material need in Chinese society to pursue the three 子: 车子 chēzi “car,” 房子 fángzi “house,” and 妻子 qīzi “wife.”
舙 huà (adj.) - talkative
Made of three 舌 shé “tongue,” 舙 means talkative, especially in regard to speaking ill of someone or gossiping behind his or her back.
READ: How to Order a (Mouthwateringly Exquisite) Burger in Chinese
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