厌弃 (yàn qì) — to loathe and reject, to spurn with disgust

Definition

A literary verb meaning to loathe and reject someone or something, often for moral or ethical reasons. Stronger and more formal than 讨厌 (casual 'to dislike'), with a sense of turning away in disgust.

verb
to loathe and rejectto spurn with disgust
Easily confused

Examples

  • 厌弃。
    Tā yīn wèi zì sī de xíng wéi ér zāo rén yàn qì.
    He was loathed and rejected by others because of his selfish behavior.
  • 。
    Méi yǒu rén huì yàn qì yí gè nǔ lì gǎi zhèng cuò wù de rén.
    No one would spurn someone who works hard to correct their mistakes.
  • 厌弃。
    Zhè zhǒng jiù guān niàn zǎo yǐ bèi shè huì yàn qì le.
    This kind of outdated concept has long been rejected by society.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

厌yànloathe
弃qìdiscard

厌 expresses loathing, and 弃 expresses discarding, together meaning to spurn.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 厭; 厌 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
厂厂chǎng
Sound part声符shēngfú
猒
猒yàn厭yàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 厭 combines 厂 as the meaning part with 猒 as the sound part; the simplified 厌 is a later abbreviation.

Open 厌 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 棄; 弃 is its simplified writing.

  • 子子zǐchild
  • 𠀠𠀠𠀠basket
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

The traditional form 棄, not the simplified 弃, shows 子 (child), 𠀠 (basket), and 廾 (two hands), as a picture of throwing out a child in a basket.

Open 弃 →

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