xuàn
verb/adjective #7,762

Meanings

  1. 1 to show off; to flaunt; dazzling; flashy

Examples

Tā zǒng xǐhuān xuàn fù.
He always likes to show off his wealth.
Zhège tèxiào tài xuàn le!
These special effects are so dazzling!
Bié zài péngyouquān xuàn le.
Stop showing off on social media.

Tips

usage
is very common in internet slang. (xuànfù) means to flaunt wealth. (xuànkù) means 'flashy and cool.' As an adjective, alone is slang for 'cool' or 'awesome.'
history
Originally meant 'bright and dazzling light' (from the fire radical ). The modern sense of 'showing off' evolved from the idea of being blindingly flashy.

Components

radical
huǒ
fire
is the indexing fire radical — three-pronged flames standing tall. Here it sits on the left in its full standalone form (not reduced to ). It carries the sense of dazzle, flashing brightness, glaring heat. Sister chars , , share the brilliant-flame family.
phonetic
xuán
dark; mysterious
(xuán) on the right supplies the sound — initial preserved, rime drifted slightly with tone shift to fourth tone (xuàn). Same phonetic powers (bowstring), (dizzy), (cauldron-handle). The dark-mystery flavour of contrasts beautifully with 's blaze: dazzling brilliance arises against a dark backdrop.

Stroke Order

xuàn