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仇家 (chóu jiā) — enemy, foe

Definition

A personal enemy tied to a long-standing grudge (恩怨), not just a rival. Contrast with 敌人 (general adversary, often in war/conflict) and 仇人 (a person who wronged you).

noun
enemyfoe
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 仇家，。
    Tā yǒu hěn duō chóu jiā, yīn wèi tā zài shāng chǎng shàng dé zuì le hěn duō rén.
    He has many enemies because he offended many people in the business world.
  • 仇家。
    Zhè ge chóu jiā yì zhí zài àn zhōng zhǎo tā de má fan.
    This enemy has been secretly causing him trouble.
  • 仇家。
    Tā jué dìng hé nà ge chóu jiā huà jiě duō nián de ēn yuàn.
    He decided to resolve the long-standing grudge with that enemy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

仇chóuenmity
家jiāperson

仇 denotes enmity, and 家 here names a person; together they mean an enemy or foe.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
九
九jiǔ仇⁰qiú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

仇 has 亻, a person, and 九, which gives the sound.

Open 仇 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementPeople (General)

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