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被害 (bèi hài) — to be murdered, to be killed (as a victim)

Definition

被害 (bèi hài) literally means 'to be harmed' but in modern usage is almost always shorthand for 'to be murdered' — a victim of homicide. The common nominal form is 被害者 ('murder victim').

verb
to be murderedto be killed (as a victim)

Examples

  • 被害。
    Zhè wèi wú gū de lǎo rén zuó wǎn bèi rén bèi hài le.
    This innocent old man was murdered last night.
  • 。
    Jǐng fāng fā xiàn yí jù bèi hài zhě de shī tǐ.
    The police found the body of a murder victim.
  • 被害。
    Tā shì yīn wèi qián cái jiū fēn ér bèi hài de.
    He was murdered over a financial dispute.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

被bèisuffer
害hàiharm

被 carries the sense of suffering, and 害 means harm, so it describes suffering harm.

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
衣衣yīclothing
Sound part声符shēngfú
皮
皮pí被bèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

被 pairs 衣 (clothing) with 皮, which gives the sound.

Open 被 →

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

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丯
丯jiè害hài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Open 害 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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