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卖国贼 (mài guó zéi) — traitor (to one's country); quisling

Definition

A 卖国贼 is a person who betrays their own country for personal gain — 'traitor (to one's country)'. The word is strongly condemnatory and typically used in political or historical contexts.

noun
traitor (to one's country)quisling
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 卖国贼。
    Lì shǐ shàng de mài guó zéi dōu bèi rén tuò qì.
    Traitors in history are all despised by people.
  • ，卖国贼。
    Tā chū mài guó jiā jī mì, chéng le rén rén hǎn dǎ de mài guó zéi.
    He sold state secrets and became a public enemy — a traitor everyone condemns.
  • 卖国贼。
    Rèn hé mài guó zéi dōu táo bú guò fǎ lǜ de zhì cái.
    No traitor can escape the punishment of the law.

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.

卖国sell country
卖màisell国guócountry
动宾Verb + object
贼zéithief

卖 means sell and 国 means country, while 贼 means traitor, giving one who sells out the country.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →

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 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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 賊; 贼 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēweapon
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé賊zéi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional 賊 combines 戈, a weapon, with 則 to give the pronunciation; the simplified 贼 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 贼 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

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