Definitions

chuí (verb) to hang down; to droop; to dangle
chuí (adverb) nearly; almost; to approach
chuí (verb) to hand down; to bequeath

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and 𠂹 represents the sound. Based on the original meaning "borderland", now written as . The current meaning is a phonetic loan.

About

The character 垂 originated from a conceptual depiction of a plant bending downward, establishing its fundamental sense of hanging or drooping. In modern orthography, it functions as an independent radical with a structure that is not commonly dissected into smaller semantic components. Its semantic range expanded from the physical act of suspension to include abstract states such as something being pending or bordering on a condition, as seen in terms implying imminence. Within classical texts, the character also developed the figurative meaning of to bestow or confer, deriving from the image of something descending from a superior position.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

窗帘下来了。

Chuānglián chuí xiàlái le.

The curtain has hung down.

直地站着。

Tā chuízhí de zhàn zhe.

He is standing vertically.

柳在河边生长。

Chuíliǔ zài hé biān shēngzhǎng.

Weeping willows grow by the river.

爷爷喜欢在湖边钓。

Yéye xǐhuān zài hú biān chuídiào.

Grandpa likes to fish by the lake.

熟透的果子在枝头。

Shú tòu de guǒzi chuí zài zhītóu.

The ripe fruits hang from the branches.

他对那幅画涎已久。

Tā duì nà fú huà chuíxián yǐ jiǔ.

He has been drooling over that painting for a long time.

暮之年,他写下了回忆录。

Zài chuímù zhī nián, tā xiě xiàle huíyìlù.

In his twilight years, he wrote his memoirs.

尽管身体危,他仍坚持完成工作。

Jǐnguǎn shēntǐ chuíwēi, tā réng jiānchí wánchéng gōngzuò.

Although his body is critically ill, he still insists on finishing his work.