háng

颃

Character · VerbTraditional頏

(of birds) to fly up and down; to contend with

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 3 examples
1.

verb

(of a bird) to fly up; to soar

literary

This is the original, specific meaning. It is almost exclusively used in classical Chinese literature or in the fixed expression '颉颃'.

 《
Shī诗
Jīng经
 》
yǒu有
yún云
 ：
 “
Yàn燕
yàn燕
yú于
fēi飞
 ，
xié颉
zhī之
háng颃
zhī之
 。
 ”

The Book of Songs says: 'The swallows fly, now dipping, now soaring.'

2.

verb

to contend; to be evenly matched; to rival

literary

This meaning is derived from the image of two birds flying against each other. It is almost always found in the disyllabic word '颉颃'.

Liǎng两
wèi位
qí棋
shǒu手
shí实
lì力
xiāng相
dāng当
 ，
kě可
wèi谓
xié颉
háng颃
 。

The two chess players are evenly matched.

Zhè这
liǎng两
zhī支
qiú球
duì队
zài在
lián联
sài赛
zhōng中
yī一
zhí直
hù互
xiāng相
xié颉
háng颃
 。

These two teams have been contending with each other throughout the league.