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卑贱 (bēi jiàn) — lowly, humble (of social status); mean, base, contemptible (of character)

Definition

卑贱 covers two related senses: lowly birth/status, and base/contemptible character. In modern usage it is largely literary and carries a strong negative judgment, unlike the neutral 低微 or humble 自卑.

adjective
lowlyhumble (of social status)meanbasecontemptible (of character)

Examples

  • 卑贱，。
    Tā chū shēn bēi jiàn, dàn kào nǔ lì chū rén tóu dì.
    He came from a lowly background but achieved success through hard work.
  • 卑贱。
    Zhè zhǒng bēi jiàn de xíng wéi ràng rén tuò qì.
    This kind of base behavior makes people despise it.
  • 卑贱，。
    Tā cóng lái bù jué dé zì jǐ bēi jiàn, fǎn ér hěn zì xìn.
    He never feels lowly; on the contrary, he is very confident.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

卑bēilowly
贱jiànlow

卑 and 贱 both convey lowliness, so the meaning is lowly or contemptible.

Characters in this word

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

卑 puts 甲 (fan) with 𠂇 (hand), drawing a hand holding a fan, showing a servant.

Open 卑 →

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 賤; 贱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān賤jiàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 賤 uses 貝 to carry the meaning and 戔 for the sound; the simplified 贱 is a later shorthand.

Open 贱 →
Appears in
Social Roles & Status

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