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I just want to confirm if my research on the usage is correct or not for 躲 and 藏.
Based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects). I'm unsure about the timing of the word because I heard that 躲 also means hide for a long time while 藏 can also mean hide for a short while.
Is that true?
You are partly correct!
躲 usually means hide (people), and 藏 means hide (object).
However, 躲 is basically like the active form of hide, and 藏 is the passive form of hide.
For example, 小白兔躲在草叢裏 means the bunny hid itself in the bush, while 小男孩把小白兔藏在草叢裏 means the bunny was hidden by the boy.
Hope this can help you!
see online dictionaries e.g. bkrs, 躲 (隐藏） hide (oneself): 躲在树林中 hide among the trees 兔子躲在高高的草丛中。 The rabbit hid in the high grass. （避让） avoid; dodge: 躲雨 take shelter from the rain 警察向他开枪时，他躲开了。 He dodged when the police fired at him. 你怎么老躲着他 ? Why do you keep avoiding him?
藏 1) hide; conceal 你把钱包藏 哪儿了？ Where did you hide the purse? 2) store; lay by （躲藏; 隐藏） hide; conceal: 狐狸尾巴是藏不住的。 A fox cannot hide its tail. 他藏在树后。 He concealed himself behind the trees. （收存; 储藏） store; lay by: 藏粮于民 store grain among the people 你把你的钱藏在什么地方? Where do you keep your money? 所有事实都藏在他的记忆里。 All the facts were stored in his memory.
躲藏to conceal oneself to go into hiding to take cover
隐藏 hide; conceal; remain under cover; go into hiding;
thus 藏 can mean "hide (store away)for a long time", much more at bkrs
躲 means "to evade" as in 躲避 (dodge/ evade), 躲開 (dodge)
躲在家中不見人 means "stay home to evade people" The main point is not to hide, people know where you are, the main point is 'stay home to evade (people)'
躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning it doesn't take object, you cannot say 我把他躲在家中; you can only say 他躲在家中
Why would "躲在家中不見人" can be translated as "hide at home and not seeing anyone" ? Because 躲 can be interpreted as the shortened form of 躲藏(hide and evade). You can replace 躲 with 藏 and write "藏在家中不見人" and the meaning would not change.
It is the confusing part about 躲. you can use it as a single character verb for "to evade"; you can also use it as a shortened form of the compound word "躲藏" for "to hide"
藏 means "to hide"
It can be used with or without object
Example:
警察來了他就藏 (intransitive)
他藏在家中 (intransitive)
我藏他在家中 (transitive)
他藏錢在家中 (transitive)
So based on my research so far, 躲 means hide (people) while 藏 means hide (objects).
You got it wrong, 躲 is an intransitive verb, meaning "to evade". Only human and animal can do that.
藏 means "to hide" . As a transitive verb, 藏 can be applied to people or object. e.g. "to hide people" , "to hide object" ; as an intransitive verb, only human and animal can do that. e.g. "people hide". "animals hide"
躲 means to hide somewhere (and constantly change locations lest to be found)
藏 means to hide somewhere (and stay still).
In short, 躲 is in active-mode, while 藏 is in passive-mode.
Yes, 躲 is more towards "evading" which on its own is a bit too general and rather ambiguous. That is why you need to add 避 and 開 to zoom in on how or why you are evading.
If, however, you wish to specifically say "to bodily dodge" an incoming object, for example an arrow or a slap, you say 躲闪, the 闪 gives the idea of some instantaneous bodily movement to dodge away from something.
As for 藏, it's more towards hiding, concealing or hidden either objects or persons; even figuratively, thus the famous saying and movie 卧虎藏龙.
Of course you could successively go from 躲 to 藏, like:-
杨将军躲避了敌军以后山藏身处三年.
躲 is an act of evading from being caught or hurt, similar to 避. One of the way to evade is hiding. People and animals can evade from hazard themselves while a vase not.
藏 is the boarder sense of hiding, for both person and object.
There is no usage constraint on long time or short time for 躲 and 藏.
