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劣质 (liè zhì) — shoddy, of poor quality

Definition

Used for products or materials that are poorly made — 'shoddy, low-quality'. Unlike 恶劣 (which describes bad behavior or conditions) or 拙劣 (clumsy, botched performance), 劣质 only modifies physical goods.

adjective
shoddyof poor quality

Examples

  • 劣质。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng shēng chǎn de liè zhì chǎn pǐn hěn kuài jiù huài le.
    The shoddy products produced by this factory broke quickly.
  • 劣质，。
    Bú yào mǎi zhè zhǒng liè zhì cái liào, làng fèi qián.
    Don't buy this kind of shoddy material; it's a waste of money.
  • 劣质。
    liè zhì De zuò gōng ràng jiā jù kàn qǐ lái hěn cū cāo.
    Shoddy workmanship makes the furniture look rough.

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.

劣lièinferior
质zhìquality

劣质 marks 质 (quality) as 劣 (inferior), meaning poor or shoddy quality.

Characters in this word

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

劣 combines 少 (little/less) with 力 (strength), showing less strength, hence bad or inferior.

Open 劣 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Good & Bad

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