桀 (jié) — name of the last ruler of the Xia dynasty (a tyrant); (bound form) cruel, tyrannical; used in compound words
Definition
Bound form meaning 'tyrannical, cruel,' used in set phrases like 桀骜不驯 and paired with 纣 to mean 'Jie and Zhou' — two infamous tyrants from the Xia and Shang dynasties.
bound form
name of the last ruler of the Xia dynasty (a tyrant)crueltyrannicalused in compound words
Easily confused
- 节jiésound-alike(classifier) for segments of connected things: lessons, train cars, sections
- 结jiésound-alike(noun) knot
- 杰jiésound-alike(bound form) outstanding, prominent
- 劫jiésound-aliketo rob; to plunder; to seize by force
- 截jiésound-alike(verb) to cut off; to intercept; to stop
- 洁jiésound-alikeclean (bound morpheme, used in compounds)
Examples
- 桀。Xià jié shì zhōng guó lì shǐ shàng zhù míng de bào jūn.Jie of Xia is a famous tyrant in Chinese history.
- ，。Tā xìng gé jié ào bú xùn, hěn nán yǔ tuán duì hé zuò.His character is stubborn and unruly, making it hard to work with the team.
- 桀纣，。Lì shǐ jiāng jié zhòu bìng chēng, zhǐ dài bào nüè de tǒng zhì.History pairs Jie and Zhou together to refer to tyrannical rule.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
Sound part声符shēngfú
匄
匄gài桀jié
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
In older writing, 桀 was made from 木 plus 匄, with 匄 showing the sound. In modern 桀, the 匄 part has changed into a shape like 舛.
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