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异类 (yì lèi) — a person or thing that is different from the mainstream; an outsider, alien, or misfit

Definition

Literally 'different kind/species', 异类 labels someone or something that does not belong — an outsider, misfit, or alien. It carries a stronger sense of being strange or unwelcome than simply 'different'.

noun
a person or thing that is different from the mainstreaman outsideralienor misfit

Examples

  • 异类，。
    Tā zài gōng sī lǐ xiàng gè yì lèi, zǒng shì dú lái dú wǎng.
    He's like an outsider at the company, always going his own way.
  • 异类。
    Shēng wù xué jiā fā xiàn le yì zhǒng xīn de yì lèi wù zhǒng.
    Biologists discovered a new alien species.
  • ，异类。
    Zài gǔ dài, yì lèi cháng cháng bèi shì wéi wēi xié.
    In ancient times, outsiders were often seen as a threat.

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
类lèikind

异 means different and 类 means kind, naming something of a different kind.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 類; 类 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
犬犬quǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
頪
頪lèi類lèi
Same sound today

The traditional form 類 pairs 犬, which relates to the meaning, with 頪, which gives the sound. The simplified 类 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 类 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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