brood; be grounded; break down
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesverb
to brood; to sit on eggs (of a hen)
dialectThis is the original, literal meaning describing the behavior of hens.
Nà那
zhī只
lǎo老
mǔ母
jī鸡
yòu又
zài在
jī鸡
shè舍
lǐ里
pā趴
wō窝
le了
。
That old hen is brooding in the coop again.
Mǔ母
jī鸡
pā趴
wō窝
shì是
zhèng正
cháng常
de的
shēng生
lǐ理
xiàn现
xiàng象
。
A hen brooding is a normal physiological phenomenon.
verb
to be out of action; to be grounded; to break down
informalA metaphorical extension, commonly used in informal speech to describe people, vehicles, or machinery being incapacitated.
Tā他
gǎn感
mào冒
le了
，
jīn今
tiān天
zài在
jiā家
pā趴
wō窝
ne呢
。
He has a cold and is staying at home today (grounded).
Zhè这
tái台
lǎo老
ye爷
chē车
yòu又
pā趴
wō窝
le了
，
děi得
jiào叫
tuō拖
chē车
。
This old car has broken down again; we need to call a tow truck.
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Zuì最
jìn近
méi没
xiàng项
mù目
，
wǒ我
men们
zǔ组
hǎo好
duō多
rén人
dōu都
pā趴
wō窝
le了
。
Recently there are no projects, so many people in our team are idle.
Nà那
pǐ匹
mǎ马
shòu受
shāng伤
hòu后
yī一
zhí直
pā趴
wō窝
，
bù不
néng能
cān参
jiā加
bǐ比
sài赛
le了
。
That horse has been grounded since it got injured and can't compete in the race.