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击败 (jī bài) — to defeat, to beat

Definition

击败 (jībài) is a formal verb meaning 'to defeat' — used for decisive wins in competition, battle, or challenge. Stronger and more written than the everyday 打败; pairs with goals/difficulties like the example shows.

verb
to defeatto beat

Examples

  • 击败。
    Wǒ men de duì wu jī bài le wèi miǎn guàn jūn.
    Our team defeated the defending champion.
  • 击败。
    Tā men zuì zhōng jī bài le suǒ yǒu kùn nan.
    They ultimately overcame all difficulties.
  • 击败。
    Zhè cì kǎo shì tā jī bài le quán bān tóng xué.
    He beat all his classmates in this exam.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

击jīstrike
败bàidefeat

击 'strike' and 败 'defeat' combine to mean beat someone to defeat.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 擊; 击 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
毄
毄jī擊jī
Same sound today

The traditional form 擊 has 手 (hand) and 毄; 毄 gives the sound and also points to striking, while the simplified 击 is a later shorthand.

Open 击 →

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Conflict & Agreement5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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