Chinese edit

phonetic
trad. (尷尬)
simp. (尴尬)
alternative forms 尲尬
尬尷尬尴
間架间架 Wu
 
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Etymology edit

The original form, 尲尬 (OC *kreːm kreːds), was first attested in the 2nd century CE in the ancient dictionary of Shuowen and was discernibly an ideophonic, disyllabic word of reduplicative nature (連綿詞).

The term 尲尬 seemed to have fallen into disuse by medieval times, except dialectally, in the Wu region. The dialectal form of it was revived in literature in the form of 尷尬 since the Yuan dynasty, and the colloquial Mandarin pronunciation gāngà was borrowed thence.

Pronunciation edit


Adjective edit

尷尬

  1. (of a situation or person) awkward; embarrassing; uncomfortable
    尷尬場面尴尬场面  ―  gāngà chǎngmiàn  ―  embarrassing scene
    尷尬出局尴尬出局  ―  gāngà chūjú  ―  to be embarrassingly eliminated
    處於跋前疐後尷尬局面 [MSC, trad.]
    处于跋前疐后尴尬局面 [MSC, simp.]
    Tā zhèng chǔyú báqiánzhìhòu de gāngà júmiàn. [Pinyin]
    He is in a difficult dilemma.
  2. (of a person) embarrassed; uneasy; sheepish; flustered
    神情尷尬神情尴尬  ―  shénqíng gāngà  ―  to have an embarrassed look
  3. (dated, of a person) unusual; sneaky; strange
  4. (Eastern Min) impoverished; poor
  5. (Hakka) irresolute; unreasonable

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit