废旧 (fèi jiù) — (attributive) old and useless, discarded, scrap | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used only as an attributive modifier before nouns (batteries, materials, items) to flag them as scrap — never as a predicate. Pairs naturally with recycling/recovery vocabulary like 回收.

adjective

(attributive) old and uselessdiscardedscrap

Examples

废旧。
Zhè xiē fèi jiù diàn chí bù néng suí biàn rēng.
These used batteries cannot be thrown away casually.
废旧。
Gōng chǎng bǎ fèi jiù cái liào huí shōu zài lì yòng.
The factory recycles scrap materials for reuse.
废旧。
Xiǎo qū lǐ shè le yí gè fèi jiù wù pǐn huí shōu zhàn.
A recycling station for discarded items has been set up in the neighborhood.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

废fèidiscarded

废 means discarded and 旧 means old, together meaning old useless things.

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.

广發廢

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.

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 舊; 旧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

雈雈huánowl

Sound part声符shēngfú

臼

臼jiù舊jiù

Same sound today

The traditional form of 旧 is 舊, which shows 雈, an owl, above 臼, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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