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无赖 (wú lài) — rascal, scoundrel (noun); shameless, unreasonable (adjective)

Definition

无赖 describes someone shamelessly unreasonable — a scoundrel who denies responsibility or cheats others. 流氓 is a more violent criminal (hoodlum/gangster); 无耻 is the pure adjective 'shameless' for actions, not a person.

rascalscoundrel (noun)shamelessunreasonable (adjective)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 无赖。
    Nà ge wú lài piàn le wǒ de qián.
    That scoundrel cheated me out of my money.
  • 无赖。
    Tā zhè yàng zuò tài wú lài le.
    What he did is too shameless.
  • 无赖。
    Nǐ bié gēn wǒ shuǎ wú lài.
    Don't act shamelessly with me.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

无wúhave no
赖làirely

无 (have no) and 赖 (rely) together suggest a person with nothing to rely on, a rogue.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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 賴; 赖 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèicowry
Sound part声符shēngfú
剌
剌là賴lài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 賴 uses 貝 (a cowry) for profit and 剌 for the sound; the simplified 赖 is a shorthand.

Open 赖 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6People (General)Personality & Traits

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