這篇文章饒富情味。
Apparently according to online dictionaries, 饒富 is an adjective for abundance/richness etc.
My question is specifically what does 饒 mean? 富 I understand. Does 饒 describe 富 as in "饒(many) 富 (richness)" or is this a case of both words meaning the same thing but put together to make this new phrase? But then wouldn't it not make any sense to say "rich rich" twice?
Thanks for the help!
饒 ráo has several meanings but can as literary adjective by itself also mean "rich, plentiful":
饒有风趣 ráo yǒu fēngqù - full of wit and humor
There is also a compound 豐饒 fēngráo (rich and fertile, fruitful) with a similar duplication (fēng = lush, bountiful, full-grown, large).
Chinese has lots and lots of two-character compounds where each of the characters is very close in meaning to the other one. For instance,
清净 (clean,pure + quiet) -- quiet
迅速 (fast + quick) -- rapid, fast
勇敢 (valiant,brave + brave,dare) -- brave
Together the two characters may intensify the meaning, or just tweak it in a more specific direction. Or the compound might have developed because it sounded good or had a nice rhythm in classical poetry or prose. You'd have to investigate the history to see why a particular compound developed. (饒富 seems to be rather old, since I found it back in the Liji (Han era).)
Yes, the meanings of the two words are quite close.
饒 - abundant, plentiful
富 - abundant, ample; rich, wealthy
饒富 - to be rich in, with plenty of (some quality or other)
The phrase "饒富" is an interesting phrase meaning "abundant". Let's separate the two words:
Thus, combined it essentially can have the same meaning as "饒" or "富". However, when either one of those characters are used individually, they are often interpreted as their own, unique, and more common meanings. "饒" used alone is interpreted as "mercy", while "富" used alone usually means "rich" or "wealth". Both of them, nevertheless, can also mean "abundant". When two characters are concatenated together, they may have the same meaning, and will (and should) have the same meaning if they are used as a description term. Thus, since the "common" meaning of both is "abundant", they, when combined, have exactly that meaning1. Note that many Chinese phrases use conjunct characters that can2 have the same or similar meanings, and when added together form a stronger or clearer meaning.
Notes:
1: Note that we can also reach this conclusion using logic:
(pseudo-code)
"饒"= {"have mercy", "abundant", "plentiful", "extra"}
"富"= {"rich", "wealthy", "abundant", "ample"}
common= "饒" & "富"
// common: "abundant"
We reach the same conclusion using set notation. That's a bit off-topic here, but just to say you can also calculate this using logic, sets, and (possibly) computer programs.
2: Double emphasis here, because usually these individual words have another, more common meaning. If they don't then we can just use one of them. We use them combined because both of them have other, more common meanings, but combined, it narrows the possibilities to just one (usually). See above for how to prove it using set notation.
Does 饒 describe 富 as in "饒(many) 富 (richness)" or is this a case of both words meaning the same thing but put together to make this new phrase?
For this question, it seems that many answers suggest the latter.
In dictionary, 饶富 is defined as 富饶. One example sentence from 红楼梦 is 年纪未满三十，且又家资饶富. This kind of 饶富 is indeed rich+rich, which is a 同义复词.
In 饶富情味, however, I think 饶富 is different. Here 饶 (much) describes 富 (rich in) so it means “very rich in” 情味. Just like how 饶 works in 饶有兴趣.
PS: Both 饶富’s are rarely used. I always say 饶有xx.
My question is specifically what does 饒 mean?
Well, it is hard to put oneself in the mind of an author, when the text is not crystal clear. Myself, I would plump for:
饶富：另外增添：
这篇文章饶富情味。
This essay is overflowing with emotion.
1. 饶 ráo：富足，多：富饶。饶裕。饶舌（多话）。
饶：rich, plentiful, many, much：fertile, having a lot. Abundant. Talkative (also rap music)
2. 饶：宽恕，免除处罚：饶恕。饶命。
饶：forgive, exempt, relieve of debt, pardon, spare someone’s life
3. 饶：尽管：饶这样，他还不同意。
饶：despite: despite that, he (still) disagrees
4. 饶：另外增添：饶头。买十饶一。
饶：additional, add: extra. Buy 10 get 1 free.
