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胜败 (shèng bài) — victory and defeat; success and failure (as a pair, often in formal or literary contexts)

Definition

A fixed paired noun meaning 'victory and defeat (as one)' — used as a single concept, almost always in formal or literary contexts like warfare or competition. Think of it as one word, not two.

noun
victory and defeatsuccess and failure (as a pair, often in formal or literary contexts)

Examples

  • 胜败，。
    Bǐ sài de shèng bài bìng bú zhòng yào, zhòng yào de shì cān yù.
    The outcome of the competition isn't important; what matters is participation.
  • 胜败，。
    shèng bài Nǎi bīng jiā cháng shì, zhè cì shū le xià cì zài lái.
    Victory and defeat are common in war — we lost this time, but we'll try again next time.
  • 胜败。
    Zhè chǎng zhàn zhēng de shèng bài zhì jīn réng wú dìng lùn.
    The outcome of this war is still undecided to this day.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

胜shèngvictory
败bàidefeat

胜 means victory and 败 means defeat; together they refer to win and loss.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng胜shèng
Same sound today

The simplified 胜 changes the traditional 勝 by replacing part of its sound side with 生; the left 肉 relates to meat.

Open 胜 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →
Appears in
Success & Failure

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