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过激 (guò jī) — extreme, drastic, radical

Definition

过激 (guòjī) describes actions, words, or measures that go too far — 'overly extreme, drastic.' Unlike a normal 'extreme' (极端), 过激 specifically carries a negative judgment: the behavior has crossed a reasonable line.

adjective
extremedrasticradical

Examples

  • 过激。
    Tā de yán lùn guò yú guò jī.
    His remarks are too extreme.
  • 过激。
    Zhè zhǒng guò jī xíng wéi huì yǐn fā chōng tū.
    This kind of extreme behavior will trigger conflict.
  • 过激。
    Wǒ men yīng gāi bì miǎn guò jī cuò shī.
    We should avoid drastic measures.

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.

过guòtoo much
激jīintense

过 means too much and 激 means intense, giving excessive intensity.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi過guò
Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 过 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo激jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 激, the 氵 side marks water, and 敫 gives the sound jiǎo; the original sense is water swashing.

Open 激 →
Appears in
Attitudes & Opinions

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