滚 (gǔn): to boil (of water)

Meanings

1 to boil (of water)
2 to roll; to tumble
3 Get lost! (colloquial)

Characters

滚

gǔn

to roll; to boil; to get lost

Examples

水已经滚了，可以泡茶了。

Shuǐ yǐjīng gǔn le, kěyǐ pàochá le.

The water has boiled, you can brew tea now.

球从山坡上滚了下来。

Qiú cóng shānpōshàng gǔn le xiàlái.

The ball rolled down the hillside.

滚！我再也不想见到你！

Gǔn! Wǒ zàiyě bù xiǎngjiàn dào nǐ!

Get lost! I never want to see you again!

别在泥地里打滚。

Bié zài ní dì lǐ dǎgǔn.

Don't roll around in the mud.

Tips

usage

滚 as "Get lost!" is very rude and aggressive. Only use it in anger or as a joke among very close friends. In drama/TV it's extremely common.

memory

The character has 氵 (water) + 衮 (rolling robes) - picture water rolling at a boil.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water

Water radical on the left - three strokes evoking flowing droplets. Supplies meaning: 滚 originally described boiling/churning water (still alive in 滚水 boiling water and 滚开 boil over). From the rolling water came the broader sense of any rolling motion - 滚动 (roll), 滚出去 (get out, roll away), 翻滚 (tumble).

phonetic

衮 gǔn

imperial dragon-robe

衮 (gǔn) supplies the sound exactly, no tone shift. It pictures the dragon-embroidered ceremonial robe of an emperor - a niche standalone today, mostly seen in 衮服 and historical writing. Used here purely for sound; the meaning of churning/rolling is delivered entirely by 氵. Same phonetic appears in 鲧 (an ancient flood-tamer) but is otherwise rare.