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失败者 (shī bài zhě) — loser

Definition

A 'loser' — someone who has failed or lost (a contest, a goal). More specific than 输家, which is used mainly for the loser of a game or contest.

noun
loser
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 失败者，。
    Tā jué de zì jǐ shì gè shī bài zhě, suǒ yǐ fàng qì le nǔ lì.
    He felt he was a loser, so he gave up trying.
  • 失败者，。
    Zhè chǎng bǐ sài méi yǒu zhēn zhèng de shī bài zhě, zhǐ yǒu chéng zhǎng de jī huì.
    There are no real losers in this competition, only opportunities to grow.
  • 失败者。
    Bú yào bǎ yí cì shī bài jiù dìng yì chéng shī bài zhě.
    Don't define yourself as a loser just because of one failure.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

失败fail
失shīlose败bàidefeat
联合Coordinate
者zhěperson

失败 describes losing or failing, and 者 points to the person associated with that outcome.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
Appears in
People (General)Success & Failure5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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