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贬义 (biǎn yì) — derogatory sense or connotation (of a word or expression)

Definition

贬义 is the noun for a word's negative, disparaging sense (e.g. a word carries 贬义 'has derogatory connotations'). Contrast with 褒义 (praise, positive sense) and 中性 (neutral).

noun
derogatory sense or connotation (of a word or expression)

Examples

  • 贬义。
    Zhè ge cí zài xiàn dài hàn yǔ lǐ yǐ jīng biàn chéng biǎn yì le.
    This word has already taken on a derogatory sense in modern Chinese.
  • 贬义。
    Yòng zhè ge shuō fǎ hěn róng yì ràng rén jué de yǒu biǎn yì.
    Using this expression easily makes people feel it has a derogatory connotation.
  • ，贬义。
    Suī rán yuán wén shì zhōng xìng cí, dàn zài yǔ jìng zhōng chǎn shēng le biǎn yì.
    Although the original text is a neutral term, it developed a derogatory sense in the context.

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.

贬biǎndisparage
义yìmeaning

贬 means lower or disparage, and 义 means meaning, so 贬义 is a disparaging sense.

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 貶; 贬 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貶 pairs 貝 (shell) with 乏 giving the sound; the simplified 贬 is a later shorthand.

Open 贬 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →
Appears in
HSK 2.0 Level 6Language

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