替罪羊 (tì zuì yáng) — scapegoat | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A scapegoat — a person unfairly blamed for others' mistakes. Often used with verbs like 找, 推, 当 (look for / push blame onto / serve as).

noun

scapegoat

Measure word · 个

，替罪羊。
Chū liǎo shì, lǐng dǎo zǒng shì zhǎo tì zuì yáng.
When something goes wrong, the boss always looks for a scapegoat.
替罪羊。
Tā chéng le zhè cì shì gù de tì zuì yáng.
He became the scapegoat for this accident.
，替罪羊。
Gōng sī bù néng bǎ zé rèn dōu tuī gěi yí gè rén, nà shì bù gōng píng de tì zuì yáng.
The company can't push all the responsibility onto one person — that's an unfair scapegoat.

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.

替罪substitute for guilt

替tìsubstitute罪zuìguilt

动宾Verb + object

'替罪' means substitute for guilt, and '羊' is a sheep, giving the idea of a scapegoat.

Characters in this word

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

替 combines 竝, two figures side by side, with 曰; the picture shows those figures changing places.

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

罒非罪

罪 puts 罒 (a net, written fully as 网) over 非 (mistake).

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

The shape of 羊 comes from a drawing of a ram's head.

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