169. In addition to compounds such as those already given, formed by two adjectives, substantives and verbs make part of many.
- 小器 ’siau (small) k’í‘, (vessel), parsimonious.
- 雪白 sih báh, snow-white.
- 厚道 ’heu (thick) dau‘ (doctrine), liberal.
- 大量 tû‘ (great) liáng‘, (capacity), generous.
- 刻薄 k’uh (to cut) bóh (thin), exacting.
- 認眞 niung‘ tsun, diligent.
- 拗强 au‘ (to bend) giáng, unyielding.
- 完全 wén (finish) zíen, complete (r. dzíen.)
- 氣悶 k’í‘(anger) mun‘ (sad), secretly sad.
- 高興 kau (wish) h’iung‘ (ready for), willing.
- 難過 nan (hard) ku‘ (to pass), painful, sad.
- 胆大 ’tan (liver) dú‘ (great), bold.
- 出客 t’seh (outside) k’áh, (visitor), handsome.
- 好笑 ’hau (good) siau‘ (laugh), ridiculous.
Obs. There are also triple forms, in which other parts of speech enter, e.g. 壁立直, pih lih dzuh, straight as a wall; 的溜圓 tih lieu‘ yön, very round. In these examples, the adjective which stands last is qualified by the preceding words.
170. Some adjectives of two words are exclusively local in their use, and present no etymology in their characters, being written phonetically. They are always inseparable.
| 𨅓跎 sá dú, tired. | 豪燥 au sau‘, active, sharp. |
| 齷齪 ok t’soh, dirty. | 㾑𤺥 keh dah, blind to reason. |
| 囫圇 weh lun, entire. | 𨰵𨐃 h’iá tsá, skillful. |
| 葛列 köh lih, clean. | 玲瓏 ling lóng, intelligent. m. |
171. Combinations of three are also numerous, in which the first word contains the principal meaning. The second is repeated, and as will be seen in the examples, sometimes conveys only sound. The phonetic formation of the characters will usually serve to indicate this.
- 瞎搭搭 p. hah tah tah, irregular.
- 硬𨅘𨅘 p. ngáng‘ báng báng, hard and stiff.
- 軟滋滋 ’niön tsz tsz, soft.
- 滑澾澾 p. wah t’ah t’ah, slippery.
- 閙嚷嚷 ’nau záng záng, noisy, humming.
- 毛萋萋 mau ts’í ts’í, rough.
- 暖筒筒 p. ’nön dóng dóng, warm.
- 直條條 dzuh diau diau, straight.
- 矮矬矬 ’á t’sú t’sú, dwarfish.
- 短悠悠 ’tön yeu yeu, „
- 白雪雪 pak sih sih, snow-white.
- 黑搨搨 p. huk t’ah t’ah, black.
Obs. i. In examples not marked p. the repeated word has an independent sense, in agreement with that of the leading word, and is so used in the books.
Obs. ii. These phonetic appendages, destitute of any significance of their own, are interesting to the comparative etymologist as corresponding to adjectival terminations in other languages.
172. Combined forms of four words, often consisting of adjectives and either substantives or verbs, and still more frequently of double adjectives repeated are, such as follow.