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世仇 (shì chóu) — hereditary feud, vendetta (between families or clans); mortal enemy in a family feud

Definition

A hereditary blood feud between families or clans that lasts for generations. Use only for this deep, inherited kind of enmity — not ordinary personal grudges.

noun
hereditary feudvendetta (between families or clans)mortal enemy in a family feud

Examples

  • 世仇。
    Zhè liǎng gè jiā zú zhī jiān de shì chóu yǐ jīng chí xù le jǐ bǎi nián.
    The feud between these two families has lasted for centuries.
  • 世仇，。
    Tā shì wǒ men jiā de shì chóu, wǒ men shì dài dōu yǔ tā jiā wèi dí.
    He is our family's mortal enemy; our generations have been enemies with his family.
  • 世仇。
    Zhè chǎng shì chóu yuán yú sān bǎi nián qián de yì chǎng tǔ dì jiū fēn.
    This hereditary feud originated from a land dispute three hundred years ago.

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.

世shìgeneration
仇chóufeud

世 means 'generation' and 仇 means 'feud', so it is a feud across generations.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
九
九jiǔ仇⁰qiú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

仇 has 亻, a person, and 九, which gives the sound.

Open 仇 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementFamily & Kinship

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