潦

lǎo, liáo

尞 + 氵

Definitions

lǎo flooded; heavy rain

liáo used in 潦草[liáo cǎo]; used in 潦倒[liáo dǎo]

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 氵 represents the meaning and 尞 represents the sound.

Semantic: 氵 Phonetic: 尞

About

潦 is a phono-semantic compound combining 氵 (water) on the left to indicate meaning and 尞 on the right to indicate sound. The character originally referred to flooding, heavy rain, or large puddles of standing water left after a downpour. Through metaphorical extension, it came to describe sloppiness, carelessness, or a disorganized state, as seen in everyday compound words. This extended sense, a lack of meticulousness or a messy appearance, now prevails in modern usage, while the original hydrological meaning is less common.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他的字写得很潦草。

Tā de zì xiě de hěn liáocǎo.

His handwriting is very sloppy.

不要潦草地完成作业。

Bùyào liáocǎo de wánchéng zuòyè.

Don't finish your homework in a sloppy manner.

潦倒的生活让他很沮丧。

Liáodǎo de shēnghuó ràng tā hěn jǔsàng.

The impoverished life made him very depressed.

他最近事业潦倒，心情不好。

Tā zuìjìn shìyè liáodǎo, xīnqíng bù hǎo.

He has been down on his luck in his career lately and is in a bad mood.

这封信写得太潦草，我看不懂。

Zhè fēng xìn xiě de tài liáocǎo, wǒ kàn bù dǒng.

This letter is written too messily; I can't read it.

画家故意用潦草的线条表现情感。

Huàjiā gùyì yòng liáocǎo de xiàntiáo biǎoxiàn qínggǎn.

The painter deliberately used rough, sketchy lines to express emotion.

大雨过后，田野里尽是潦水。

Dàyǔ guòhòu, tiányě lǐ jìn shì lǎo shuǐ.

After the heavy rain, the fields were full of accumulated water.

相比过去的潦倒，他现在的生活好多了。

Xiāngbǐ guòqù de liáodǎo, tā xiànzài de shēnghuó hǎo duō le.

Compared to the destitution of the past, his life is much better now.

Related Characters

Component: 尞

Component: 氵

潦