潜 qián
- Strokes
- 15
- Radical
- 氵 — water
- Made of
- 氵 water 替 to change, to replace, to substitute for
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
潜伏
qiánfú
to lurk; to lie hidden; to be latent
Characters in this word
伏 fú
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 亻 — man, person
- Made of
- 亻 man, person 犬 dog
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 这种病毒可能在体内潜伏很久，直到免疫力下降才突然发作。 Zhè zhǒng bìngdú kěnéng zài tǐnèi qiánfú hěn jiǔ, zhídào miǎnyìlì xiàjiàng cái tūrán fāzuò. This virus may lie dormant in the body for a long time and only flare up when immunity falls.
- 猫潜伏在草丛中，一动不动地盯着那只鸟。 Māo qiánfú zài cǎocóng zhōng, yīdòng bùdòng de dīngzhe nà zhī niǎo. The cat lay hidden in the grass, staring motionlessly at that bird.
- 危险还潜伏在黑暗的角落里，大家一定要小心。 Wēixiǎn hái qiánfú zài hēi'àn de jiǎoluò lǐ, dàjiā yīdìng yào xiǎoxīn. Danger still lurks in dark corners; everyone must be careful.
Related words
- 潜力 qiánlì potential
- 潜能 qiánnéng potential; latent capacity
- 潜入 qiánrù to sneak into; to infiltrate; to dive into
- 潜水 qiánshuǐ to dive; diving; to lurk online
- 潜艇 qiántǐng submarine
- 潜心 qiánxīn to devote oneself wholeheartedly to
- 潜移默化 qiányímòhuà imperceptible influence; to influence gradually and subtly
- 潜在 qiánzài potential; latent
- 此起彼伏 cǐqǐbǐfú to rise one after another; to occur in waves
- 埋伏 máifú to lie in ambush
- 起伏 qǐfú to rise and fall; fluctuations; ups and downs
- 间谍 jiàndié spy; secret agent