敲诈 (qiāo zhà) — to extort (money), to blackmail | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

敲诈 means to extort or blackmail — using threats to squeeze money or favors out of someone. Colloquial 宰 and 敲 refer to overcharging customers, while 讹诈 is extortion under false pretenses and 诈骗 is broader fraud.

verb

to extort (money)to blackmail

Examples

敲诈。
Nà ge hēi bāng jīng cháng qiāo zhà fù jìn de xiǎo shāng diàn.
That gang often extorts money from small shops in the neighborhood.
。
Tā yīn wèi qiāo zhà lè suǒ bèi pàn le sān nián.
He was sentenced to three years for extortion and blackmail.
敲诈，。
Bié xiǎng qiāo zhà wǒ, wǒ bú pà.
Don't try to blackmail me — I'm not afraid.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

敲 and 诈 both suggest forcing or cheating for money, together meaning extortion.

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.

高攴敲

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攴攴pūto hit lightly; to tap

Sound part声符shēngfú

高

高gāo敲qiāo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

敲 combines 高, which supplies the sound, with 攴, meaning to hit lightly or tap.

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 詐; 诈 is its simplified writing.

言乍詐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà詐zhà

Same sound today

The traditional form 詐 shows 言 (speech) plus 乍 as a sound part; the simplified 诈 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 Crime & Police

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