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糟蹋 (zāo tà) — to waste, to squander (resources, opportunities, food, etc.); to ruin, to damage, to wreck (things, health, reputation); to insult, to defile, to trample on (someone's kindness, dignity)

Definition

A colloquial verb covering two main uses: wasting things (resources, food) and ruining or insulting people (health, dignity, kindness). Stronger and more vivid than 浪费 for waste, and more insulting than 破坏 — 破坏 is neutral damage, 糟蹋 implies contempt.

verb
to wasteto squander (resources, opportunities, food, etc.)to ruinto damageto wreck (things, health, reputation)to insultto defileto trample on (someone's kindness, dignity)

Examples

  • 糟蹋，。
    Bié zāo tà zì jǐ de jiàn kāng, shǎo áo yè.
    Don't ruin your health; stay up less.
  • 糟蹋，。
    Tā hē zuì le jiù zāo tà dōng xī, dǎ suì le hěn duō wǎn.
    When he's drunk, he wrecks things and breaks a lot of bowls.
  • 糟蹋。
    Nǐ zhè yàng shuō huà shì zài zāo tà tā de hǎo yì.
    Talking like this is insulting her good intentions.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

糟zāospoil; waste
蹋tàtrample

糟 conveys spoiling or wasting, and 蹋 conveys trampling, together conveying ruin or abuse.

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
米米mǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
曹
曹cáo糟zāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

糟 pairs 米 (rice) with 曹, which gives its sound; the rice side points to liquor made from fermented rice, originally meaning unfiltered.

Open 糟 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 蹋 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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