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质疑 (zhì yí) — to question, to call into doubt (the truth or validity of something)

Definition

质疑 (zhì yí) is a formal verb meaning to publicly call something's truth or validity into doubt. Stronger and more confrontational than 怀疑 (private skepticism); softer than 质问 (to interrogate accusingly).

verb
to questionto call into doubt (the truth or validity of something)

Examples

  • 质疑。
    Hěn duō rén duì zhè xiàng yán jiū de jié lùn tí chū zhì yí.
    Many people questioned the conclusions of this study.
  • 质疑。
    Tā de néng lì cóng wèi bèi zhì yí guò.
    His ability has never been questioned.
  • 质疑。
    zhì yí Quán wēi shì kē xué jìn bù de dòng lì zhī yī.
    Questioning authority is one of the driving forces of scientific progress.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

质zhìquestion
疑yídoubt

质 means to question and 疑 means doubt, so together they mean to raise doubts about something.

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 質; 质 is its simplified writing.

  • 斦斦yín
  • 貝貝bèi

The traditional form 質 is made up of 貝 and 斦; this describes 質, not the simplified 质.

Open 质 →

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

  • 大大dàstanding human figure
  • 夂夂zhǐtilted head with open mouth
  • 丨丨gǔncane

疑 depicts a standing figure 大 with a tilted, open-mouthed head 夂 and a cane 丨, a confused person looking around for direction.

Open 疑 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Thinking & Cognition5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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