TongTong
Sign in

侠盗 (xiá dào) — chivalrous outlaw; heroic bandit (who robs the rich to help the poor)

Definition

侠盗 is a romantic, literary noun for a 'chivalrous outlaw' who robs the rich to help the poor — a stock character in wuxia fiction and film, not a real criminal type.

noun
chivalrous outlawheroic bandit (who robs the rich to help the poor)

Examples

  • 侠盗，。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ de xiá dào jié fù jì pín, shēn shòu bǎi xìng ài dài.
    The chivalrous outlaw in this novel robs the rich to help the poor and is deeply loved by the common people.
  • 侠盗？。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de xiá dào? zhè shì gè yǒu qù de wèn tí.
    Were there real chivalrous outlaws in history? That's an interesting question.
  • 侠盗。
    Diàn yǐng dǎo yǎn xiǎng sù zào yí gè yǔ zhòng bù tóng de xiá dào xíng xiàng.
    The film director wants to create a distinctive chivalrous outlaw character.

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.

侠xiáchivalrous
盗dàorobber

侠 (chivalrous) + 盗 (robber) = a robber with chivalry.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 侠 →

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 盜; 盗 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 盜 combines 㳄 (drooling/craving) with a vessel shape, meaning to covet someone else's possessions and steal; 盗 is the simplified writing of 盜.

Open 盗 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.