Chinese word

形容

Pronunciation

Pinyinxíng róng

Meaning

  • verbdescribe

Example

我很难用一句话来形容他的样子。wǒ hěn nán yòng yí jù huà lái xíng róng tā de yàng zi

I find it difficult to describe what he looks like in one sentence.

Illustration for 形容 (describe)

More examples

你会怎么形容这部电影的结局？nǐ huì zěn me xíng róng zhè bù diàn yǐng de jié jú

How would you describe the ending of this movie?

Core concept

Turns a person's or thing's visible form, character, or state into a verbal picture.

Common phrases

  • 怎么形容zěn me xíng róng

    how to describe

  • 用语言形容yòng yǔ yán xíng róng

    describe in words

  • 不容易形容bù róng yì xíng róng

    hard to describe

Similar words

描述miáo shù: Give a clear account of facts or situations in words, often by laying out the details.
表达biǎo dá: Convey feelings or thoughts through words or actions.

Definition in Chinese

用语言描述人或事物的外貌、特征或状态。yòng yǔ yán miáo shù rén huò shì wù de wài mào tè zhēng huò zhuàng tài

Word origin

形 (xíng, "shape") + 容 (róng, "appearance") combine the ideas of form and outward aspect, giving the word its sense of expressing what something is like in language.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, 很难 (hěn nán, "very difficult") and 无法 (wúfǎ, "unable to") often come before it when words cannot capture something precisely.

Other meanings

  • depictverb
  • put into wordsverb

Related words

  • 形容词xíng róng cíadjectivenoun

Word lists with this word