仇 (chóu) — hatred, animosity, enmity; foe, enemy

Definition

仇 (chóu) names a deep personal hatred and the personal enemy who is its target — 仇人 is just the 'enemy' side, 敌人 is a general 'enemy' (even of a nation), and 仇恨 is the feeling itself.

noun

hatredanimosityenmityfoeenemy

Easily confused

Examples

。
Zhè zhǒng chóu hèn hěn nán xiāo chú.
This kind of hatred is hard to eliminate.
，。
chóu Rén jiàn miàn, fèn wài yǎn hóng.
When enemies meet, they are especially furious.
仇。
Tā bào le shā fù zhī chóu.
He avenged his father's murder.

Origin

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

亻九仇

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Conflict & Agreement Emotions & Feelings

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