黑锅 (hēi guō) — unfair blame, scapegoat (in the idiom 背黑锅) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Used almost only in the idiom 背黑锅 — to be unfairly blamed for something someone else did. A set phrase, not a literal 'black pot'.

noun

unfair blamescapegoat (in the idiom 背黑锅)

Examples

黑锅。
Tā tì bié rén bèi le hēi guō.
He took the blame for someone else.
黑锅。
Wǒ bù xiǎng bèi zhè ge hēi guō.
I don't want to be the scapegoat for this.
，。
Gōng sī chū liǎo shì, zǒng shì ràng yuán gōng bēi hēi guō.
When the company has trouble, they always make employees take the blame.

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.

黑 (black) plus 锅 (pot) names a black pot, a metaphor for unfair blame.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 黑 seems to come from drawing a head marked with dots, usually read as facial tattoos.

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 鍋; 锅 is its simplified writing.

金咼鍋

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi鍋guō

Same sound today

In the traditional form 鍋, 金 marks metal and 咼 provides the sound; the simplified 锅 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Abstract Concepts

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