邪说 (xié shuō) — heresy (false belief deviating from accepted st…

Definition

邪说 (xieshuo) means a false, harmful belief or argument — 'heresy' in religion, 'fallacy' in logic. Almost always appears in set phrases like 邪说谬论.

noun

heresy (false belief deviating from accepted standards)fallacy (erroneous reasoning or idea)

，邪说。
Zài gǔ dài, rèn hé yǔ guān fāng zōng jiào bù tóng de xié shuō dōu huì shòu dào yán lì chéng fá.
In ancient times, any heresy different from the official religion would be severely punished.
邪说。
Tā de wén zhāng lǐ chōng mǎn le luó ji shàng de xié shuō.
His article is full of logical fallacies.
邪说。
Zhè zhǒng xié shuō yǐ jīng bèi kē xué zhèng míng shì cuò wù de.
This fallacy has been proven wrong by science.

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.

邪 means evil or heretical and 说 means theory or saying, so the sense is a heretical theory.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

邑邑yìtown; city

Sound part声符shēngfú

牙

牙yá邪xié

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

邪 puts 牙 beside 邑 (town; city): 牙 gives the sound, and 邑 shows it was first used in a place name. It was later used for strange or evil meanings.

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 說; 说 is its simplified writing.

言兌說

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

兌

兌duì說shuō

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 說 pairs 言 (meaning) with 兌 (sound); the simplified 说 is not the form described here.

Appears in