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陷害 (xiàn hài) — to frame, to set up, to entrap (someone by false accusations)

Definition

陷害 (xiànhài) means to frame someone with false charges, often in a political or competitive context. Among siblings, 诬陷 is more literary/formal and 栽赃 specifically means planting evidence.

verb
to frameto set upto entrap (someone by false accusations)

Examples

  • 陷害。
    Tā yīn wèi bèi xiàn hài ér shī qù le gōng zuò.
    He lost his job because he was framed.
  • 陷害。
    Yǒu rén xiǎng xiàn hài nà ge wú gū de shāng rén.
    Someone wants to set up that innocent businessman.
  • 陷害。
    Tā men yòng jiǎ zhèng jù xiàn hài jìng zhēng duì shǒu.
    They used false evidence to entrap their competitor.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

陷xiàntrap
害hàiharm

陷 and 害 both convey causing harm or entrapment, so together they mean to frame someone.

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
臽
臽xiàn陷xiàn
Same sound today

In 陷, the older form 臽 pictured falling into a trap; 阜 was added later to differentiate it.

Open 陷 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀mián
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
丯
丯jiè害hài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Open 害 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Crime & Police5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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