匪徒 (fěi tú) — gangster, bandit | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, written-style word for 'bandit/gangster', often used in news or crime reporting. More literary than everyday terms for criminals.

noun

gangsterbandit

Measure word · 个

Examples

匪徒。
Jǐng chá zhuā zhù le nà huǒ fěi tú.
The police caught that gang of bandits.
匪徒。
Zhè xiē fěi tú zài shān qū qiǎng jié xíng rén.
These bandits robbed pedestrians in the mountainous area.
匪徒。
Diàn yǐng lǐ de fěi tú tóu mù fēi cháng xiōng hěn.
The gangster leader in the movie was very vicious.

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.

徒túperson

“匪” bandit plus “徒” person: bandit people, i.e. gangsters.

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.

匚非匪

Meaning part形符xíngfú

匚匚fāngbox

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

非fēi匪fěi

Same sound today

匪 is built from 匚, a box, plus 非, which gives the sound.

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

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

土

土tǔ徒tú

Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Appears in

HSK 2.0 Level 6 Crime & Police

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