坏东西 (huài dōng xi) — bastard; scoundrel

Definition

坏东西 literally means 'bad thing' but functions as a personal insult ('bastard, scoundrel') aimed at a person who behaves despicably. Stronger and more colloquial than calling someone 坏人.

noun

bastardscoundrel

Measure word · 个

Examples

坏东西。
Nà ge huài dōng xi piàn le wǒ de qián.
That bastard cheated me out of my money.
坏东西，。
Dà jiā dōu shuō tā shì huài dōng xi, méi rén yuàn yì gēn tā jiāo péng you.
Everyone says he's a scoundrel; no one wants to be friends with him.
坏东西，。
Xiǎo xīn nà ge huài dōng xi, tā zǒng xiǎng zhàn bié rén pián yi.
Be careful of that bastard; he always tries to take advantage of others.

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.

坏huàibad

东西thing

东dōngeast西xīwest

联合Coordinate

坏 'bad' combines with 东西 'thing' to call someone a bad thing.

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 壞; 坏 is its simplified writing.

土褱壞

Meaning part形符xíngfú

土土tǔearth

Sound part声符shēngfú

褱

褱huái壞huài

Same sound today

For the traditional form 壞, 土 (earth) is the meaning part and 褱 supplies the sound; earth is used because something that rots eventually becomes earth. This is about 壞, not the simplified 坏.

Open 坏 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 東; 东 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 東 originally drew a full bag tied at both ends. The simplified 东 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Open 东 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 西 →

Appears in

People (General)

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