呸 (pēi) — (interjection) pah!, bah!, yuck! — expressing contempt, disgust, or dismissal
Definition
Spoken interjection used to express disgust or contempt — 'pah!', 'yuck!', 'bah!'. Always stands alone as a throwaway exclamation, never part of a sentence.
interjection
pah!bah!yuck! — expressing contemptdisgustor dismissal
Examples
- 呸！？pēi! Zhè zhǒng huà nǐ yě shuō dé chū kǒu?Bah! How can you say such a thing?
- 呸，。pēi, Wǒ cái bú xìn tā de guǐ huà.Pah, I don't believe his lies at all.
- 呸！。pēi! Zhè dōng xī zhēn nán chī.Yuck! This stuff tastes terrible.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
丕
丕pī呸pēi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
In 呸, the 口 part shows a mouth, and 丕 gives the sound pī.
Appears in
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