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横行 (héng xíng) — to run rampant, to act tyrannically (of criminals, forces, etc.); to walk sideways (of crabs, etc.)

Definition

Almost always used in the figurative sense 'to run rampant / act tyrannically' (crime, evil forces), not the literal crab-walking sense. In modern Chinese, 横行无忌 ('run wild with no fear') is a common fixed pattern.

verb
to run rampantto act tyrannically (of criminals, forces, etc.)to walk sideways (of crabs, etc.)

Examples

  • 横行，。
    Zhè xiē è shì lì zài chéng shì lǐ héng xíng duō nián, bǎi xìng kǔ bù kān yán.
    These evil forces have been running rampant in the city for years, making people's lives miserable.
  • 横行，。
    Fàn zuì fèn zǐ zài zhè ge dì qū héng xíng, zhōng yú bèi jǐng fāng zhuā huò.
    The criminals ran rampant in this area and were finally caught by the police.
  • 横行，。
    Páng xiè zài shā tān shàng héng xíng, yàng zi shí fēn yǒu qù.
    Crabs walk sideways on the beach, which looks very amusing.

Origin

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.

横héngsideways
行xíngwalk

横 gives sideways and 行 gives walk, so the word describes moving sideways or running rampant.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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