前嫌 (qián xián) — old grudges; previous ill will | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

前嫌 is a formal noun for 'old grudges' between people or groups from past conflicts. It typically appears in set phrases like 不计前嫌 (set aside old grudges) or 前嫌一笔勾销 (wipe the slate clean).

noun

old grudgesprevious ill will

Examples

前嫌，。
Wǒ men yīng dāng bú jì qián xián, chóng xīn hé zuò.
We should forget old grudges and cooperate again.
，前嫌。
Jīng guò tiáo jiě, shuāng fāng zhōng yú xiāo chú le qián xián.
After mediation, both sides finally eliminated the old grudges.
，前嫌。
Tā zhǔ dòng dào qiàn, qián xián yì bǐ gōu xiāo.
He proactively apologized, and the old grudges were wiped out in one go.

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.

前qiánprevious

前 means previous and 嫌 means grudge, so the phrase is old ill will.

Characters in this word

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

止止zhǐfoot
舟舟zhōuboat

In the older form of 前, 止 (foot) and 舟 (boat) showed a foot on a boat moving forward; in the current 前 those parts are shortened.

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

女兼嫌

Meaning part形符xíngfú

女女nǚwoman

Sound part声符shēngfú

兼

兼jiān嫌xián

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 女 connects the character to women, while the right part 兼 gives its sound.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement

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