Definitions

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

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 搪 is a phono-semantic compound. Its left-side semantic hand radical 扌 indicates the meaning involves a manual or physical action. The right-side component 唐 serves as the phonetic element, supplying the pronunciation without contributing its own meanings. Originally, 搪 referred to the physical act of warding off or parrying. This meaning later expanded into abstract uses, such as evading responsibility, making excuses, or stalling. In modern industrial terminology, it acquired a specific sense for applying a protective enamel coating to metal.

Example Sentences Hide

这是一个瓷杯子。

Zhè shì yī gè tángcí bēizi.

This is an enamel cup.

他试图塞我的问题。

Tā shìtú tángsè wǒ de wèntí.

He tried to evade my question.

不要用借口塞我。

Bùyào yòng jièkǒu tángsè wǒ.

Don't evade me with excuses.

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.