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偏袒 (piān tǎn) — to be partial to; to show favoritism toward (someone)

Definition

A verb meaning to side with or favor one side unfairly in a dispute or competition. It always implies bias and unfairness, so it is stronger than simply 'preferring' — and note the '袒' (expose the shoulder) must not be confused with the surname 谭.

verb
to be partial toto show favoritism toward (someone)

Examples

  • 偏袒。
    Lǎo bǎn zǒng shì piān tǎn lǎo yuán gōng.
    The boss always shows favoritism toward the senior employees.
  • 偏袒，。
    Cái pàn piān tǎn zhǔ duì, guān zhòng fēi cháng bù mǎn yì.
    The referee favored the home team, and the audience was very unhappy.
  • 偏袒。
    Nǐ bù néng piān tǎn rèn hé yī fāng.
    You cannot be partial to either side.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

偏piānleaning
袒tǎnside with

偏 points to a slant, and 袒 means siding with someone; together they describe favoritism.

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rén
Sound part声符shēngfú
扁
扁biǎn偏piān
Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

Open 偏 →

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
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
旦
旦dàn袒tǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

袒 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 旦, which gives the sound.

Open 袒 →
Appears in
Attitudes & Opinions

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