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不正之风 (bù zhèng zhī fēng) — unhealthy tendency, malpractice, undesirable social or institutional practice

Definition

A formal written phrase for a 'bad social or institutional trend' (corruption, malpractice). Wider in scope than 弊端 or 弊病, which point to specific flaws in a system or policy.

phrase
unhealthy tendency, malpractice, undesirable social or institutional practice

Examples

  • 不正之风。
    Wǒ men bì xū jiān jué dǎ jī gè zhǒng bù zhèng zhī fēng.
    We must resolutely crack down on all kinds of unhealthy practices.
  • 不正之风。
    Zhè zhǒng bù zhèng zhī fēng yán zhòng sǔn hài le qǐ yè de shēng yù.
    This unhealthy tendency has seriously damaged the company's reputation.
  • 不正之风。
    Gōng zhòng duì guān chǎng bù zhèng zhī fēng fēi cháng fǎn gǎn.
    The public is very disgusted with corrupt practices in officialdom.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
止止zhǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng正zhèng
Same sound today

正 pairs 止 with 丁; 止 marks the sense and 丁 gives the sound.

Open 正 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 风 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set PhrasesSociety & Public Life

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.