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大肆 (dà sì) — (adverb) wantonly, without restraint (used for negative actions)

Definition

大肆 is an adverb that goes BEFORE a verb to mean 'wantonly, without restraint' — only for negative or harmful actions (挥霍, 屠杀, 宣传). Unlike 放肆 or 嚣张 (adjectives describing a person), 大肆 modifies the action itself.

adverb
wantonlywithout restraint (used for negative actions)

Examples

  • 大肆，。
    Tā men dà sì huī huò gōng kuǎn, yǐn qǐ le gōng fèn.
    They wantonly squandered public funds, arousing public outrage.
  • 大肆，。
    Zhè jiā méi tǐ dà sì xuān chuán xū jiǎ xìn xī, bèi fá kuǎn le.
    This media outlet wantonly spread false information and was fined.
  • 大肆，。
    Qīn lüè zhě dà sì tú shā píng mín, fàn xià le tāo tiān zuì xíng.
    The invaders wantonly massacred civilians, committing heinous crimes.

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.

大dàgreatly
肆sìunrestrained

大 means greatly, and 肆 means unrestrained, giving wantonly.

Characters in this word

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

The form 大 is a picture of a person standing and facing forward, not of someone stretching their arms.

Open 大 →

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
镸镸cháng
Sound part声符shēngfú
隶
隶lì肆sì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

肆 pairs 镸 as a meaning part with 隶 as a sound part.

Open 肆 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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