TongTong
Sign in

脏话 (zāng huà) — obscene language; profanity; swear words

Definition

noun
obscene languageprofanityswear words
Measure word · 句

Examples

  • 脏话。
    Zài gōng gòng chǎng hé shuō zāng huà hěn bù lǐ mào.
    It's very rude to say swear words in public.
  • 脏话，。
    Zhè bù diàn yǐng lǐ yǒu hěn duō zāng huà, bú shì hé hái zi kàn.
    This movie has a lot of obscene language and isn't suitable for children.
  • 脏话。
    Tā shēng qì de shí hou rěn bú zhù mà le yí jù zāng huà.
    When he got angry, he couldn't help swearing a dirty word.

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.

脏zāngdirty
话huàwords

脏 dirty and 话 words give dirty words, i.e. obscenities.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 髒; 脏 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 脏 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (心脏) it is 臟; in others (脏) it is 髒.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
骨骨gǔbone
Sound part声符shēngfú
葬
葬zàng髒zàng
Same sound today

The traditional form 髒 combines 骨 (bone) with 葬 (zàng) for the sound.

Open 脏 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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