丑化 (chǒu huà) — to defame, to vilify; to uglify, to make ugly

Definition

A transitive verb meaning to portray someone or something as much worse than they are. Compared to 诋毁 (personal verbal attacks), 丑化 emphasizes distorting an image or reputation, often through media or writing.

verb
to defameto vilifyto uglifyto make ugly
Easily confused

Examples

  • 丑化。
    Zhè zhǒng bào dào míng xiǎn zài chǒu huà tā.
    This kind of reporting is clearly defaming him.
  • 丑化。
    Wǒ men bú yīng gāi chǒu huà zì jǐ de lì shǐ.
    We should not uglify our own history.
  • 丑化。
    Dí rén shì tú chǒu huà wǒ men de lǐng dǎo rén.
    The enemy tried to defame our leaders.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

丑chǒuugly
化huàtransform

丑 (ugly) and 化 (transform) combine to mean make something ugly or defame it.

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 醜; 丑 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 丑 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words it is 醜; in others (丑) it is 丑.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
鬼鬼guǐghost, demon
Sound part声符shēngfú
酉
酉yǒu醜chǒu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 醜 uses 鬼, a ghost or demon, to show ugliness and 酉 for sound; that shape is about 醜, not about 丑.

Open 丑 →

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

化 shows two person figures, one upright and one upside down, to give the idea of reversal or change.

Open 化 →

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