TongTong
Sign in

猥琐 (wěi suǒ) — (of a person's appearance or manner) sleazy, shifty, creepy, seedy

Definition

A negative adjective for a person's appearance or manner that comes across as sleazy, shifty, or creepy — a vibe that feels untrustworthy. Stronger than just 'unkempt' (邋遢); it implies a moral uneasiness, not just poor grooming.

adjective
(of a person's appearance or manner) sleazyshiftycreepyseedy

Examples

  • 猥琐，。
    Zhè ge rén kàn qǐ lái yǒu diǎn wěi suǒ, nǐ yào xiǎo xīn.
    This person looks a bit creepy — you should be careful.
  • 猥琐。
    Tā nà wěi suǒ de xiào róng ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
    That sleazy smile of his made people very uncomfortable.
  • 猥琐，。
    Wǎng shàng hěn duō rén shuō tā cháng dé wěi suǒ, qí shí tā rén tǐng hǎo de.
    Many people online say he looks shifty, but actually he's a nice guy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

猥wěilowly
琐suǒpetty

“猥” conveys lowliness and “琐” pettiness, together describing a shabby, sleazy manner.

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
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
畏
畏wèi猥wěi
Same sound today

The left part of 猥 is 犬, a dog, used for the meaning; the right part is 畏, used for the sound.

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 琐 →
Appears in
AppearancePersonality & Traits

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.