为非作歹 (wéi fēi zuò dǎi) — to do all kinds of evil, to commit every crime
Definition
A literary idiom meaning to commit all kinds of crimes and evil deeds — stronger and more formal than the everyday verb 做坏事. Almost always used for villains, criminals, or abusers of power.
idiom
to do all kinds of evilto commit every crime
Examples
- 为非作歹，。Zhè ge è bà zài cūn lǐ wéi fēi zuò dǎi, méi rén gǎn guǎn.This bully did all kinds of evil in the village, and no one dared to stop him.
- ，为非作歹。Xiǎo shuō lǐ de fǎn pài wú è bú zuò, wéi fēi zuò dǎi le yí bèi zi.The villain in the novel committed every crime and did evil his whole life.
- 为非作歹，。Tā men wéi fēi zuò dǎi, zuì zhōng shòu dào le fǎ lǜ de yán chéng.They committed all kinds of evil and were finally severely punished by the law.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.