TongTong
Sign in

亡命徒 (wáng mìng tú) — desperado; desperate thug

Definition

A literary/formal word for a violent outlaw who doesn't fear death — literally 'a person who has lost (亡) their life (命) and become a thug (徒)'. Use in writing or news; 暴徒 is the more neutral term for a rioter or thug.

noun
desperadodesperate thug
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 亡命徒。
    Nà ge wáng mìng tú bèi jǐng chá bāo wéi le.
    That desperado was surrounded by police.
  • 亡命徒，。
    Tā kàn qǐ lái xiàng gè wáng mìng tú, yǎn shén xiōng hěn.
    He looks like a desperado, with fierce eyes.
  • 亡命徒，。
    Zhè xiē wáng mìng tú shén me dōu bú pà, lián mìng dōu bú yào.
    These desperate thugs are afraid of nothing; they don't even care about their lives.

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.

亡命risk one's life
亡wángflee命mìnglife
动宾Verb + object
徒túperson

“亡命” suggests risking one's life, and “徒” means a person; together they mean a desperado.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The shape originally marked a knife's cutting edge with a line.

Open 亡 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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