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笑柄 (xiào bǐng) — laughingstock, object of ridicule

Definition

A 笑柄 is someone or something that has become an object of ridicule — the Chinese equivalent of 'a laughingstock'. 成/作为 笑柄 is the common pattern: a person or event 'becomes' a laughingstock.

noun
laughingstockobject of ridicule

Examples

  • 笑柄。
    Nǐ zuò de zhè jiàn shì chéng le dà jiā de xiào bǐng.
    What you did became everyone's laughingstock.
  • 笑柄。
    Tā yīn wèi nà cì shī wù chéng le quán gōng sī de xiào bǐng.
    Because of that mistake, he became the laughingstock of the whole company.
  • 笑柄。
    Méi yǒu rén yuàn yì chéng wéi bié rén de xiào bǐng.
    No one wants to be someone else's laughingstock.

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.

笑xiàolaugh
柄bǐnghandle

笑 and 柄 form a handle of laughter, meaning a person or thing that people laugh at.

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quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
艸
艸cǎo笑xiào
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Open 笑 →

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
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
丙
丙bǐng柄bǐng
Same sound today

柄 shows a wooden handle: it combines 木 (wood) with 丙 for its sound.

Open 柄 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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