出气 (chū qì) — to vent one's anger, to take it out (on someone) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

出气 means 'to vent anger' — it's an inseparable verb phrase, not the verb 出 on its own. Usually takes 把/拿: 别拿我出气 ('don't take it out on me').

verb

to vent one's angerto take it out (on someone)

Examples

出气。
Tā xīn qíng bù hǎo jiù xǐ huan zhǎo rén chū qì.
When he's in a bad mood, he likes to find someone to vent his anger on.
，。
Tā shēng le yí dù zi qì, zhōng yú chū le kǒu qì.
He was extremely angry and finally let off some steam.
出气？
Bié ná wǒ chū qì hǎo bu hǎo?
Don't take your anger out on me, okay?

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

出 means emit, and 气 means air or anger, so 出气 means to vent anger.

Characters in this word

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

止止zhǐfoot
凵凵kǎncave

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Emotions & Feelings

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