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专横 (zhuān héng) — imperious, overbearing, domineering

Definition

An adjective for a person, attitude, or tone that is domineering and arbitrarily insists on their own way, often ignoring others. Carries a strong negative judgment of character.

adjective
imperiousoverbearingdomineering

Examples

  • 专横。
    Tā shuō huà de yǔ qì fēi cháng zhuān héng.
    His tone of voice is very imperious.
  • 专横。
    Zhè wèi lǎo bǎn duì yuán gōng hěn zhuān héng.
    This boss is very domineering toward employees.
  • 专横。
    Tā de zhuān héng tài dù ràng dà jiā dōu hěn nán shòu.
    Her overbearing attitude made everyone uncomfortable.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

专zhuānmonopolizing
横héngtyrannical

Monopolizing and tyrannical qualities combine to describe overbearing behavior.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 專; 专 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 專 shows 又, a hand, turning 叀, a spindle; this came to mean gathering several things into one.

Open 专 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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