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弃婴 (qì yīng) — to abandon an infant

Definition

A verb meaning to abandon a baby; 弃婴 can also be read as a noun meaning 'abandoned baby / foundling.'

verb
to abandon an infant

Examples

  • 弃婴。
    Yǒu rén zài zhè lǐ qì yīng.
    Someone abandoned an infant here.
  • 。
    Tā qì guò yí gè yīng.
    He once abandoned an infant.
  • 弃婴。
    Tā yīn wèi pín kùn ér qì yīng.
    She abandoned the infant because of poverty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

弃qìabandon
婴yīnginfant

弃 means abandon and 婴 means infant, so the pair denotes abandoning a baby.

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 棄; 弃 is its simplified writing.

  • 子子zǐchild
  • 𠀠𠀠𠀠basket
  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands

The traditional form 棄, not the simplified 弃, shows 子 (child), 𠀠 (basket), and 廾 (two hands), as a picture of throwing out a child in a basket.

Open 弃 →

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 嬰; 婴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
癭
癭yǐng嬰yīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 嬰 pairs 貝, carrying the meaning, with 癭 for the sound; the simplified 婴 is a shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.

Open 婴 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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