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自大狂 (zì dài kuáng) — megalomania; a person with megalomania

Definition

A noun for a person with extreme, delusional self-importance — stronger than just 自大, which is the personality trait; 自大狂 is the person who embodies it. Refers to both the individual and, with 的态度, the resulting behavior.

noun
megalomaniaa person with megalomania
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 自大狂，。
    Tā zhēn shì gè zì dài kuáng, zǒng yǐ wéi zì jǐ shì tiān cái.
    He's really a megalomaniac, always thinking he's a genius.
  • 自大狂。
    Zhè zhǒng zì dài kuáng de tài dù ràng tā shī qù le suǒ yǒu péng you.
    This megalomaniac attitude made him lose all his friends.
  • 自大狂。
    Méi rén yuàn yì hé yí gè zì dài kuáng yì qǐ gōng zuò.
    No one is willing to work with a megalomaniac.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

自大self-important
自zìself大dàgreat
主谓Subject + predicate
狂kuángobsessive person

自 and 大 suggest thinking oneself great, while 狂 gives the sense of an obsessive person.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →
Appears in
Mental Health

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