害人 (hài rén) — to harm others; to cause trouble for others | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

害人 means to harm or cause trouble for other people. The first character 害 emphasizes the damage done; it is a transitive verb that takes a person or group as its object (e.g., 害人匪浅, 害人不浅).

verb

to harm othersto cause trouble for others

Examples

害人，。
Tā zǒng xiǎng hài rén, nǐ yào xiǎo xīn tā.
He always wants to harm others; you should be careful of him.
，。
Nà ge huài rén hài guò hěn duō rén, zhōng yú bèi zhuā le.
That bad person harmed many people and was finally caught.
。
Zhè ge yáo yán zhēn shì hài rén bù qiǎn.
This rumor really causes great harm.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

“害” means harm and “人” means people, together expressing harming people.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

丯

丯jiè害hài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Appears in

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