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阿飞 (ā fēi) — hooligan, hoodlum, young rowdy

Definition

阿飞 is a colloquial, somewhat dated slang term for a young male troublemaker or street punk — typically a teenager or young adult, not a hardened criminal. Carries a stronger sense of "young rowdy" than of serious criminality.

noun
hooliganhoodlumyoung rowdy
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 阿飞。
    Nà ge ā fēi yòu zài jiē shàng nào shì le.
    That hooligan is causing trouble on the street again.
  • 阿飞。
    Zhè qún ā fēi jīng cháng qī fu xiǎo tóng xué.
    This group of hooligans often bullies younger students.
  • 阿飞。
    Jǐng chá zhuā le jǐ gè ā fēi.
    The police caught a few hooligans.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
前缀qiánzhuìPrefix

A fixed syllable in front that adds a shade of meaning but carries none of its own.

阿āfamiliar
飞fēifly

阿 gives a familiar label, 飞 suggests wild flight, slang for a rowdy young person.

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
阜阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
可
可kě阿ā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The part 阜 points to a mound, and 可 gives the pronunciation; 阿 originally meant a big mound.

Open 阿 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 飛; 飞 is its simplified writing.

For 飞, the traditional form 飛 pictures a bird flying upwards.

Open 飞 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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