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屁 (pì) — (vulgar, noun) fart, flatulence; (vulgar, noun) nonsense, rubbish (figurative)

Definition

A vulgar noun: literally 'fart', but commonly used as a metaphor for 'nonsense' or 'crap' (e.g. 放屁 = talk nonsense). Note that 放屁 means both 'to fart' and 'to talk nonsense'.

noun
(vulgar, noun) fartflatulence(vulgar, noun) nonsenserubbish (figurative)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 屁。
    Tā fàng le yí gè pì.
    He farted.
  • 屁，。
    Tā shuō de dōu shì pì, bié xìn.
    Everything he said is bullshit; don't believe it.
  • 屁，。
    Zhè huà jiù shì pì, háo wú yì yì.
    This talk is just crap, totally meaningless.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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
尸尸shībody
Sound part声符shēngfú
比
比bǐ屁pì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屁 pairs 尸, a body-related mark, with 比, which gives its sound.

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