阔

• Pinyin: kuò
• Hanzi breakdown: 阔 = 门 (gate/door) + 活, wide/broad

Meaning

Wide; broad; wealthy; expansive. Describing width or, colloquially, financial prosperity.

Primary meaning is physical width (广阔 vast, 辽阔 boundless). Secondary meaning in colloquial speech: wealthy/lavish (阔气 generous/flashy, 阔佬 rich man). Common phrases: 久别重逢/阔别 (long separation), 开阔 (open up/broaden), 阔绰 (lavish/generous in spending).

Examples

1. 阔别十年之后，他终于回到了故乡，一切都变了样。 After a separation of ten years, he finally returned to his hometown, and everything had changed.
2. 这家餐厅装修得很阔气，一看就是高档的地方。 This restaurant is decorated very lavishly; you can tell it's an upscale place at a glance.
3. 站在草原上，看着那广阔无垠的天空，心情一下子开朗起来。 Standing on the grassland, looking at the vast, boundless sky, my mood immediately brightened.

Usage Guide

Context: description, colloquial, literature

Tone: varied

Do Say

• 好久不见，阔别已久！(Long time no see, it's been ages!)
• 他出手很阔气。(He spends money lavishly.)

Don't Say

• 在正式场合用阔气形容人有钱 (阔气 is colloquial; in formal contexts use 富有 or 富裕)

Origin & History

Pictophonetic: 门 (gate) + 活 (phonetic). Original meaning was 'big gate' or 'wide opening,' extended to broad/wide in general.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal