奢靡 (shē mí) — extravagant, wasteful (of luxury, in a disapproving sense)

Definition

Formal written adjective meaning 'extravagant and wasteful,' always with a disapproving tone — typically used of lifestyles, consumption, or official spending, not casual purchases.

adjective
extravagantwasteful (of luxury, in a disapproving sense)

Examples

  • 奢靡，。
    Tā guò zhe shē mí de shēng huó, měi tiān huā hěn duō qián.
    He lives an extravagant life, spending a lot of money every day.
  • 奢靡。
    Zhè zhǒng shē mí de xiāo fèi xí guàn bù zhí dé tí chàng.
    This kind of extravagant consumption habit is not worth promoting.
  • 奢靡。
    Zhèng fǔ fǎn duì shē mí làng fèi de xíng wéi.
    The government opposes extravagant and wasteful behavior.

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.

奢shēextravagant
靡míwasteful

奢 means extravagant and 靡 means wasteful; the two synonyms reinforce a luxurious, excessive sense.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 奢 →

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
非非fēi
Sound part声符shēngfú
麻
麻má靡mí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

靡 combines 非, linked to scattering, with 麻 for sound.

Open 靡 →

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