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废人 (fèi rén) — (derogatory, dated) disabled person, cripple; (insult) good-for-nothing, useless person

Definition

A derogatory noun meaning 'good-for-nothing / useless person' in modern usage. Its older literal sense for a 'disabled person' (now 残疾人) is dated and offensive.

noun
(derogatory, dated) disabled personcripple(insult) good-for-nothinguseless person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，废人！
    Nǐ zhěng tiān wán yóu xì, zhēn shì gè fèi rén!
    You play games all day — you're such a good-for-nothing!
  • 废人，。
    Tā jué de zì jǐ shì gè fèi rén, shén me yě zuò bù hǎo.
    He feels he's a useless person who can't do anything well.
  • ，废人。
    Zài gǔ dài, cán jí rén cháng bèi chēng wéi fèi rén.
    In ancient times, disabled people were often called cripples.

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.

废fèiuseless or disabled
人rénperson

「废」 (useless or disabled) and 「人」 (person) combine to mean a person regarded as useless or disabled.

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 廢; 废 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā廢fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廢 shows 广 as a house and 發 as the sound.

Open 废 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
Appears in
Injury & Disability

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