奸计 (jiān jì) — cunning trick; treacherous plot; conspiracy

Definition

奸计 (jiānjì) is a literary written term for a 'cunning, treacherous plot' — stronger and more formal than plain 计谋 or 阴谋, often used for enemy or villainous schemes in narratives.

noun
cunning tricktreacherous plotconspiracy

Examples

  • 奸计。
    Tā de jiān jì bèi wǒ men shí pò le.
    His cunning trick was seen through by us.
  • 奸计。
    Dí rén de jiān jì zuì zhōng méi yǒu dé chěng.
    The enemy's treacherous plot ultimately failed.
  • 奸计，。
    Zhè ge jiān jì shí fēn jiǎo huá, chà diǎn piàn guò le suǒ yǒu rén.
    This conspiracy was so crafty it almost fooled everyone.

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.

奸jiāntreacherous
计jìscheme

奸 means treacherous and 计 means scheme, so the word denotes a cunning plot.

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
女女nǚ
Sound part声符shēngfú
干
干gān奸jiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

奸 is written with 女 (woman) on the left and 干 on the right; the evidence says 干 gives the sound and 女 marks the meaning.

Open 奸 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 計; 计 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 計 pairs 言 (say) with 十 (all). The simplified 计 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical shape.

Open 计 →

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