偏激 (piān jī) — extreme (of opinions, behavior); radical; going to extremes

Definition

adjective
extreme (of opinions, behavior)radicalgoing to extremes

Examples

  • 偏激
    Tā de guān diǎn tài piān jī le, hěn nán ràng rén jiē shòu.
    His views are too extreme; it's hard for people to accept them.
  • 偏激
    Shuō huà bú yào nà me piān jī, yào kè guān yì xiē.
    Don't speak so extremely; be a bit more objective.
  • 偏激
    Tā xìng gé piān jī, jīng cháng hé bié rén chǎo jià.
    He has an extreme personality and often quarrels with others.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

piānone-sided
intense/extreme

偏 (one-sided) and 激 (intense) combine to mean opinions that are extreme and not balanced.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
Written in full asrén
Sound part声符shēngfú
biǎnpiān
Same sound today

偏 combines 亻 (人, a person) with 扁, which gives the sound.

Open 偏 →

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
Written in full asshuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
jiǎo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 激, the 氵 side marks water, and 敫 gives the sound jiǎo; the original sense is water swashing.

Open 激 →

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