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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

Chinese

擦肩而過

/t͡sʰä⁵⁵ t͡ɕi̯ɛn⁵⁵ ˀɤɻ³⁵ ku̯ɔ⁵¹/
to brush past (someone, opportunity, death, etc.)
  • 擦肩而过
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The phrase describes the brief, momentary contact of two people brushing shoulders while passing by each other in opposite directions.
The phrase describes the brief, momentary contact of two people brushing shoulders while passing by each other in opposite directions.

Origin

The phrase is composed of four characters: 擦 (to rub), 肩 (shoulder), 而 (and, used to connect clauses or adjectives), and 過 (to cross, pass, or go across).

The character 擦 is formed with the semantic component 手 (hand) and the phonetic component 察 (to examine, investigate, or notice). The component 察 further consists of the semantic element 宀 (a type of deep house with walls and a roof) and the phonetic element 祭 (to make offerings, sacrifice, or worship). The component 祭 is composed of 肉 (meat or flesh), 又 (again or once more), and 示 (to show, reveal, or instruct).

The character 過 combines the semantic component 辵 (to walk for a while and be still for a while) with the phonetic component 咼 (slanting). The component 辵 is made of 彳 (to walk slowly) and 止 (foot), while 咼 consists of the semantic element 口 (mouth) and the phonetic element 冎 (bone).

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

這個詞彙由四個漢字組成：擦、肩、而、過。其中「擦」字包含表示「手」的意符，並以「察」作為音符；而「察」字則由表示「深宅」的「宀」與表示「祭祀」的「祭」組成，其中「祭」字包含「肉」、「又」與「示」三個部分。

「過」字表示穿過、經過或走過，其意符為「辵」，由「彳」與「止」組成，意指行走；音符則是「咼」，由「口」與「冎」組成。此外，「肩」字與連接詞「而」也共同構成了這個描述互相錯身而過的片語。

Confidence: high · written by gemma4:26b, checked statement-by-statement against the sources below.

Lineage

  • characterChinese擦 “to rub”
    • meaningChinese手 “hand (Classifier: 隻／只 m c mn; 雙／双 m mn; 對／对 c)”
    • soundChinese察 “to examine; to investigate; to notice”
      • meaningChinese宀 “a type of deep house with walls on all four sides, a roof, a main hall, and back rooms”
      • soundChinese祭 “to make offerings to; to sacrifice to; to worship”
        • ideaChinese肉 “meat; flesh”
        • ideaChinese又 “again; once more”
        • ideaChinese示 “to show; to reveal; to indicate; to notify; to instruct”
  • characterChinese肩 “shoulder”
  • characterChinese而 “and (used to connect two clauses or adjectives)”
  • characterChinese過 “to cross; to pass; to go across; to pass through”
    • meaningChinese辵 “to walk for a while and be still for a while”
      • ideaChinese彳 “to walk slowly”
      • ideaChinese止 “foot”
    • soundChinese咼 “slanting”
      • soundChinese冎 “bone”
      • meaningChinese口 “mouth, especially the lips and internal mouth cavity (Classifier: 把 c)”
Wiktionary etymology text

No etymology text yet. The graph shows what is known from the sources.

Meanings

phrase
  1. to brush past (someone, opportunity, death, etc.)

國語辭典 definitions

  1. 互相錯身，往相反方向離開。 例：他們兩人匆匆擦肩而過，誰也沒認出對方。

© Ministry of Education, Taiwan — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW, shown unaltered.

Sources

  • etymagent (local gemma4:26b) — Generated
  • 教育部《國語辭典簡編本》 (Taiwan MOE) — CC BY-ND 3.0 TW
  • Written form — n/a
  • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0