败家子 (bài jiā zǐ) — a spendthrift who squanders family wealth; a prodigal son

Definition

Strong, disapproving word for someone who wastes or gambles away family wealth. Conveys stronger moral judgment than 浪费, and emphasizes squandering inherited (not just one's own) money.

noun
a spendthrift who squanders family wealtha prodigal son
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ，，败家子。
    Tā zhěng tiān bù gōng zuò, jiù zhī dào huā qián, zhēn shì gè bài jiā zǐ.
    He doesn't work all day, just spends money — he's really a spendthrift.
  • 败家子，。
    Tā men jiā chū le gè bài jiā zǐ, bǎ jǐ dài rén de jī xù dōu shū guāng le.
    Their family produced a prodigal son who gambled away generations of savings.
  • ，败家子。
    Bié bǎ gōng sī jiāo gěi tā, tā jiù shì yí gè bài jiā zǐ.
    Don't hand the company over to him; he's nothing but a spendthrift.

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.

败家ruin family
败bàiruin家jiāfamily
动宾Verb + object
子zǐson/person

败家 conveys ruining the family, and 子 denotes a person, giving a spendthrift who squanders family wealth.

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →

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