打抱不平 (dǎ bào bù píng) — to defend victims of injustice; to stand up against oppression

Definition

A chengyu-style verb phrase: to step in and defend someone being treated unfairly. Usually describes a person's character or a single heroic act, not an ongoing job.

verb
to defend victims of injusticeto stand up against oppression

Examples

  • 打抱不平，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù hǎo dǎ bào bù píng, kàn dào bié rén shòu qī fu zǒng shì dì yī gè zhàn chū lái.
    He has always been someone who defends the wronged; whenever he sees others being bullied, he is the first to step forward.
  • 打抱不平，。
    Zhè bù xiǎo shuō lǐ de xiá kè zuì shàn cháng dǎ bào bù píng, bāng zhù le bù shǎo wú gū de rén.
    The knight-errant in this novel is best at fighting injustice and has helped many innocent people.
  • 打抱不平，。
    Tā dǎ bào bù píng de xìng gé ràng tā zài zhí chǎng zhōng dé zuì le yì xiē rén, dàn yě yíng dé le hěn duō zūn zhòng.
    Her character of standing up for the oppressed offended some people in the workplace, but also earned her a lot of respect.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

打抱champion
打dǎtake action抱bàohold
联合Side by side
不平unfairness
不bùnot平píngfair
偏正Modifier + head

打抱 conveys championing a cause, and 不平 names unfairness, so the result is defending the wronged.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo抱
Same sound today

抱 pairs 扌 (hand) with 包; the hand part shows holding, while 包 supplies the sound and the sense of wrapping.

Open 抱 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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

The origin is uncertain. One explanation combines 八 (division) and 亏 (exhaled air) to show smooth speech.

Open 平 →

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