诽谤 (fěi bàng) — to slander; to libel | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal written verb for 'to slander' — stronger and more serious than 毁 (which leans toward 'to ruin/smash'), and more literary than 污蔑. Distinguish from 撒谎, which is simply 'to tell a lie'.

verb

to slanderto libel

Examples

诽谤，。
Tā dào chù fěi bàng zì jǐ de tóng shì, dà jiā dōu hěn tǎo yàn tā.
He slanders his own colleagues everywhere, and everyone dislikes him.
诽谤。
fěi bàng Bié rén shì yì zhǒng fēi cháng bú dào dé de xíng wéi.
Slandering others is a very immoral act.
诽谤。
Tā yīn wèi fěi bàng bèi gōng sī kāi chú le.
He was fired by the company because of slander.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

诽fěislander

谤bàngslander/criticize

“诽” and “谤” both mean slander, so the pair reinforces false accusation.

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 誹; 诽 is its simplified writing.

言非誹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yán

Sound part声符shēngfú

非

非fēi誹fěi

Same sound today

The traditional form 誹 is made of 言, which is about speech, and 非, which gives the sound; the simplified 诽 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 诽 →

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 謗; 谤 is its simplified writing.

言旁謗

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánspeech; words

Sound part声符shēngfú

旁

旁páng謗bàng

Same sound today

The traditional form 謗 pairs 言 (speech) with 旁 to give the sound; the simplified 谤 is a later shorthand.

Appears in