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狂暴 (kuáng bào) — violent; wild; ferocious

Definition

A strong word for 'violent and wild' — more intense than just 凶, suggesting both force and loss of control (storms, beasts, rage).

adjective
violentwildferocious

Examples

  • 狂暴。
    Bào fēng yǔ zhōng de hǎi làng fēi cháng kuáng bào.
    The waves in the storm were extremely violent.
  • 狂暴。
    Tā de xíng wéi biàn de yuè lái yuè kuáng bào.
    His behavior is becoming more and more wild.
  • 狂暴，。
    Nà zhī gǒu kàn qǐ lái hěn kuáng bào, bú yào kào jìn.
    That dog looks ferocious — don't get close.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

狂kuángwild
暴bàoviolent

“狂” wild and “暴” violent combine to describe ferocious violence.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →

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

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

Open 暴 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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