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污浊 (wū zhuó) — dirty, foul, filthy (of water, air, environment; also figuratively of language, habits, etc.)

Definition

Literary word for 'dirty / foul' (water, air, environment, or figuratively language and habits). Stronger and more formal than 脏, and closer to 'filthy' than to neutral 'dirty'.

adjective
dirtyfoulfilthy (of water, air, environment; also figuratively of language, habits, etc.)

Examples

  • 污浊，。
    Zhè tiáo hé de shuǐ hěn wū zhuó, bù néng hē.
    The water in this river is very foul and undrinkable.
  • 污浊，。
    Tā shuō huà de yǔ yán fēi cháng wū zhuó, ràng rén bù shū fu.
    The language he uses is very foul and makes people uncomfortable.
  • 污浊。
    Zhè zhǒng wū zhuó de huán jìng bì xū gǎi biàn.
    This kind of filthy environment must change.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

污wūdirty
浊zhuómuddy

The similar senses of 污 and 浊 reinforce one another, giving dirty and muddy.

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 汙; 污 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
水水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
于
于yú汙wū
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 汙 pairs 水 (water) with 于 for the sound; the simplified 污 is a later shorthand.

Open 污 →

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 濁; 浊 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
蜀
蜀shǔ濁zhuó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 濁 pairs 氵 (water) with 蜀, which gives the pronunciation; the simplified 浊 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the original part.

Open 浊 →
Appears in
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