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见怪 (jiàn guài) — to take offense; to mind (as in 'don't mind')

Definition

见怪 means 'to take offense' — typically used in the polite apology 请别见怪 ('please don't take offense'), often when the speaker has said or done something slightly improper. Distinct from 怪 (guài) on its own, which means 'to blame' someone.

verb
to take offenseto mind (as in 'don't mind')

Examples

  • 见怪，。
    Qǐng bié jiàn guài, tā zhǐ shì kāi wán xiào.
    Please don't take offense; he's just joking.
  • ，见怪。
    Rú guǒ wǒ de huà shuō dé bú duì, xī wàng nǐ bú yào jiàn guài.
    If I said something wrong, I hope you won't take offense.
  • ，见怪。
    Zhāo dài bù zhōu, qǐng bié jiàn guài.
    The hospitality was inadequate; please don't take offense.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

见jiànsee
怪guàistrange thing

见怪 combines 见, seeing, with 怪, something strange or blameworthy, to mean taking offense.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 見; 见 is its simplified writing.

  • 目目mùeye
  • 卩卩jiékneeling person

The traditional form 見 pairs 目 (eye) with 卩 (kneeling person), showing a kneeling figure with a large eye for a head. The simplified 见 is a later shorthand.

Open 见 →

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
忄Written in full as心xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
圣
圣shèng怪guài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

怪 is built from 忄, a form of 心, which relates to mind or feeling, and 圣, which gives the sound.

Open 怪 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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