叛离 (pàn lí) — to defect from, to betray and leave (one's group, country, cause)

Definition

Stronger than 离开 (pàn lí): a 叛- prefix marks betrayal or treason — defecting from a country, party, army, or cause one owes loyalty to. Used for defection and ideological betrayal.

verb
to defect fromto betray and leave (one's group, country, cause)

Examples

  • 叛离。
    Tā cóng jūn duì pàn lí le.
    He defected from the army.
  • 叛离。
    Tā pàn lí le zì jǐ de lǐ xiǎng.
    She betrayed her own ideals.
  • 叛离，。
    Tā pàn lí le zǔ zhī, dú zì lí kāi le.
    He defected from the organization and left alone.

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.

叛pànbetray
离líleave

The sense comes from '叛' as betray and '离' as leave; together they describe betraying and leaving a group.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
反反fǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn叛pàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叛 pairs 反 as its meaning part with 半 as its sound part.

Open 叛 →

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
隹隹zhuībird
Sound part声符shēngfú
离
离lí離lí
Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.