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侵害 (qīn hài) — to infringe on, to encroach on

Definition

侵害 focuses on damaging or violating rights/interests (e.g. 合法权益, 隐私权), usually without physical force — broader than 侵权, which is the narrower legal term for rights-infringement.

verb
to infringe onto encroach on

Examples

  • 侵害。
    Rèn hé gōng sī dōu bù dé qīn hài xiāo fèi zhě de hé fǎ quán yì.
    No company may infringe on consumers' lawful rights and interests.
  • 侵害。
    Zhè bù fǎ lǜ zhǐ zài bǎo hù gōng mín de yǐn sī quán bú shòu qīn hài.
    This law aims to protect citizens' right to privacy from being infringed upon.
  • 侵害。
    Tā men qǐ sù duì fāng qīn hài le tā men de shāng biāo quán.
    They sued the other party for infringing on their trademark rights.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

侵qīnencroach
害hàiharm

侵 encroaches and 害 harms, together meaning to infringe upon.

Characters in this word

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

侵 combines 人 (person), 帚 (broom), and 又 (hand) into the image of a person with a broom in hand.

Open 侵 →

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丯
丯jiè害hài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Open 害 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Law & Justice

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