骂街 (mà jiē) — (colloquial, separable verb) to shout abuse in…

Definition

A colloquial, separable verb meaning to curse loudly in public — not at one person but generally, at everyone/everything. Split it as 骂了…街 / 骂过…街.

verb

(colloquial, separable verb) to shout abuse in publicto curse openly and loudly

骂街。
Tā yīn wèi shēng qì zài mén kǒu mà jiē.
She was angry and shouted abuse at the door.
，。
Tā mà le yì tiān de jiē, sǎng zi dōu yǎ le.
He cursed in the street all day, and his throat went hoarse.
骂街，。
Lín jū zài lóu xià mà jiē, chǎo dé dà jiā shuì bù zháo.
The neighbor was shouting abuse downstairs, making it hard for everyone to sleep.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

骂 means to curse and 街 means street, describing cursing in the street.

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 罵; 骂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

馬

馬mǎ罵mà

Same sound today

The traditional form 罵 uses 网 (a net) for the meaning and 馬 for the sound; the simplified 骂 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

圭

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

街 combines 行 and 圭: 行 is the meaning part, and 圭 is the sound part. Originally, 圭 drew a pair of ritual axes, not earth.