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蛮横 (mán hèng) — overbearing, arbitrary

Definition

A negative adjective describing a person or their behavior as domineering, unreasonable, and unwilling to listen to others. Usually used in formal writing to criticize someone's attitude.

adjective
overbearingarbitrary

Examples

  • 蛮横，。
    Tā shuō huà hěn mán hèng, ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
    He speaks in an overbearing way, making people very uncomfortable.
  • 蛮横，。
    Nà ge lǐng dǎo zuò shì tài mán hèng, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
    That leader is too arbitrary in his work; everyone dislikes him.
  • 蛮横，。
    Tā tài dù mán hèng, gēn běn bù tīng bié rén jiě shì.
    His attitude is overbearing; he won't listen to others' explanations at all.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

蛮mánrough/unreasonable
横héngdomineering/violent

The 蛮 and 横 parts both convey rough, domineering force, so together they mean overbearing.

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 蠻; 蛮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
虫虫chóngsnake
Sound part声符shēngfú
䜌
䜌䜌蠻mán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蠻 shows 虫 (a snake) for the meaning and 䜌 for the sound; the simplified 蛮 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 蛮 →

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 橫; 横 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
黃
黃huáng橫héng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 橫 has 木, meaning wood, beside 黃, which supplies the sound; the simplified 横 is a later abbreviation.

Open 横 →
Appears in
Personality & Traits

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