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反胃 (fǎn wèi) — to feel nauseous, to have an upset stomach; (figurative) to be disgusted by, to find sickening

Definition

A verb for feeling nauseous or sick to the stomach; the second 'figurative' sense — finding something disgusting or sickening — is a metaphor of physical nausea and is the use the learner is more likely to meet at HSK 7.

verb
to feel nauseousto have an upset stomach(figurative) to be disgusted byto find sickening

Examples

  • 。
    Tā wén dào nà ge wèi dào jiù fǎn le wèi.
    She felt nauseous as soon as she smelled that odor.
  • 反胃。
    Chī le zhè zhǒng yào kě néng huì ràng rén fǎn wèi.
    Taking this medicine might make people nauseous.
  • 反胃。
    Tā nà zhǒng xū wěi de tài dù zhēn ràng rén fǎn wèi.
    His hypocritical attitude is truly sickening.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

反fǎnturn back/upset
胃wèistomach

反 means turn back or upset, and 胃 is the stomach; together they describe the stomach turning over and causing nausea.

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
又又yòuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
厂
厂chǎng反fǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

反 uses 又 (hand) for meaning and 厂 for sound. Its original shape showed a hand turning its palm over, giving the sense of return or reverse.

Open 反 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

胃 originally drew a stomach with food inside, first as concentric circles and later with a grain-like mark in the middle.

Open 胃 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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