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背弃 (bèi qì) — to abandon; to renounce; to forsake

Definition

背弃 (bèi qì) means to betray and walk away from something binding — a promise, faith, or ally — with a stronger sense of treachery than plain 放弃 (give up).

verb
to abandonto renounceto forsake

Examples

  • 背弃，。
    Tā bèi qì le dāng chū de chéng nuò, ràng dà jiā hěn shī wàng.
    He abandoned his original promise, disappointing everyone.
  • 背弃。
    Yí gè rén bú yīng gāi qīng yì bèi qì zì jǐ de xìn yǎng.
    A person should not easily renounce their own beliefs.
  • ，背弃。
    Zài kùn nan shí qī, tā bèi qì le péng you dú zì lí kāi.
    During tough times, he abandoned his friends and left alone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

背bèiturn away
弃qìabandon

背 'turn away' and 弃 'abandon' combine to mean forsake.

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
月Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
北
北běi背bèi
Same sound today

背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.

Open 背 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 棄; 弃 is its simplified writing.

  • 子子zǐchild
  • 𠀠𠀠𠀠basket
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

The traditional form 棄, not the simplified 弃, shows 子 (child), 𠀠 (basket), and 廾 (two hands), as a picture of throwing out a child in a basket.

Open 弃 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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