臭骂 (chòu mà) — to scold severely, to curse roundly | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

臭骂 is an emphatic verb meaning 'to scold severely' — 臭 here intensifies 骂, more forceful than plain 骂. Often used with 把 in a 把-construction (把…臭骂一顿).

verb

to scold severelyto curse roundly

Examples

臭骂。
Tā qì dé bǎ ér zi chòu mà le yí dùn.
He was so angry that he gave his son a severe scolding.
臭骂。
Lǎo bǎn yīn wèi chí dào bǎ yuán gōng chòu mà le yí dùn.
The boss gave the employee a thorough scolding for being late.
臭骂，。
Bié nà yàng chòu mà tā, tā yǐ jīng hěn bào qiàn le.
Don't scold her like that; she's already very sorry.

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.

臭chòuabusive

The abusive sense of 臭 builds on 骂 to mean harshly scolding.

Characters in this word

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

犬自臭

犬犬quǎndog
自自zìnose

臭 combines 自 (nose) and 犬 (dog), referring to a dog's strong sense of smell; it originally meant 'to smell'.

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 罵; 骂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

馬

馬mǎ罵mà

Same sound today

The traditional form 罵 uses 网 (a net) for the meaning and 馬 for the sound; the simplified 骂 is a later shorthand.

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