搪

táng
唐 + 扌

Definitions

táng to keep out; to hold off; to ward off; to evade; to spread; to coat; to smear; to daub

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 唐 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 唐

About

搪 is a phono-semantic compound that places the hand radical 扌 on the left to indicate a manual action, and the phonetic 唐 on the right to supply the sound, with no semantic contribution from 唐's meanings like 'exaggeration' or the Tang dynasty. Its original meaning was the physical parrying of a blow or warding off of an attack. From this concrete defensive starting point, the character's meaning expanded into figurative territory, coming to describe the evasive acts of making excuses, stalling for time, or shirking duties. In modern industrial and manufacturing terminology, the character has taken on a specialized sense: the application of a protective enamel coating to metal surfaces.

Example Sentences Hide

这是一个搪瓷杯子。

Zhè shì yī gè tángcí bēizi.

This is an enamel cup.

他试图搪塞我的问题。

Tā shìtú tángsè wǒ de wèntí.

He tried to evade my question.

不要用借口搪塞我。

Bùyào yòng jièkǒu tángsè wǒ.

Don't evade me with excuses.

搪瓷制品不易生锈。

Tángcí zhìpǐn bù yì shēngxiù.

Enamel products are not easy to rust.

每次问他，他都含糊地搪塞过去。

Měi cì wèn tā, tā dōu hánhu de tángsè guòqù.

Every time I ask him, he evasively dodges the question.

这个搪瓷锅的质量非常好。

Zhège tángcí guō de zhìliàng fēicháng hǎo.

The quality of this enamel pot is very good.

面对质疑，他只能临时编造理由来搪塞。

Miànduì zhìyí, tā zhǐ néng línshí biānzào lǐyóu lái tángsè.

Faced with skepticism, he could only fabricate reasons on the spot to evade.

尽管他用各种方法搪塞，但最终还是无法隐瞒真相。

Jǐnguǎn tā yòng gè zhǒng fāngfǎ tángsè, dàn zuìzhōng háishì wúfǎ yǐnmán zhēnxiàng.

Although he used various methods to evade, he ultimately couldn't hide the truth.

Related Characters

Component: 唐

糖 塘 瑭 醣 溏 螗 煻 篖 赯 餹

Component: 扌

把 提 打 报 接 指 据 拉 持 技 找 推 投 护

Example Words

搪塞 搪瓷 推搪