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异己 (yì jǐ) — dissident; outsider; alien (someone who holds different views or is not part of the group)

Definition

A formal, mostly political term for a person or faction seen as ideologically different from the group — someone the mainstream excludes. Stronger and more loaded than the neutral 局外人 ('outsider').

noun
dissidentoutsideralien (someone who holds different views or is not part of the group)

Examples

  • ，异己。
    Tā yīn wèi zhèng zhì guān diǎn bù tóng, bèi gōng sī shì wéi yì jǐ.
    He was regarded as a dissident by the company because of his different political views.
  • 异己。
    Lì shǐ shàng xǔ duō tǒng zhì zhě dōu céng pái chú yì jǐ.
    Many rulers in history have purged dissidents.
  • ，异己。
    Zài zhè ge tuán tǐ lǐ, rèn hé yǔ zhǔ liú yì jiàn bù tóng de rén dōu huì bèi dàng zuò yì jǐ.
    In this group, anyone who disagrees with the mainstream opinion is treated as an outsider.

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.

异yìdifferent
己jǐself

异 means different and 己 means self; together they describe a self set apart, hence an outsider or dissident.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 異; 异 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 異 depicts a person with a mask 田 over the face, so the face looks different. The simplified 异 is a later shorthand.

Open 异 →

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

The 己 shape is a picture of a silk rope used to bind objects.

Open 己 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsSociety & Public Life

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