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忐忑. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
忐忑, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
忐忑 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
忐忑 you have here. The definition of the word
忐忑 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
忐忑, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Chinese
Glyph origin
Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) , from 上 (“up”), 下 (“down”) and 心 (“heart”).
Etymology 1
Unknown. Earliest attestation was in the Song dynasty as 憳忒 in Jiyun. It is a word where the onsets are shared between the syllables (雙聲詞), likely reduplicative and/or onomatopoeic in origin. Compare 忒忒 (tètè, “throbbing (abnormally)”) and 突突 (tūtū, “palpitating”) (Ma, 2007), as well as Vietnamese thấp thỏm, nhấp nhỏm (“uneasy, fidgety”).
Pronunciation
Adjective
忐忑
- perturbed; nervous; uneasy; fidgety
- 忐忑不安 ― tǎntèbù'ān ― uneasy
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Middle Korean: 탐탁〮 (thàmthák)
Etymology 2
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Adjective
忐忑
- (obsolete) sincere
- 心心忐忑 ― xīnxīn kěngdǎo ― sincere