呲 (cī) — to scold, to rebuke (colloquial)

Definition

Colloquial spoken verb for 'to scold, give a tongue-lashing,' more vivid and harsh than 骂 (which is neutral 'to scold'). Often takes 把 with the person as object, e.g. 把他呲了一顿.

verb
to scoldto rebuke (colloquial)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，呲。
    Tā yīn wèi hái zi kǎo shì bù jí gé, hěn hěn dì bǎ hái zi cī le yí dùn.
    He gave the child a severe tongue-lashing for failing the exam.
  • 呲。
    Lǎo bǎn zài huì yì shàng dàng zhòng cī le tā jǐ jù.
    The boss scolded him a few words in front of everyone at the meeting.
  • 呲，。
    Bié cī wǒ le, wǒ zhī dào cuò le.
    Stop scolding me — I know I was wrong.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
口口kǒumouth; speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
此
此cǐ呲cī
Same sound today

呲 pairs 口 (mouth; speech) with 此, which gives it its sound.

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