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归咎 (guī jiù) — to blame (something) on (someone); to impute

Definition

Formal verb meaning 'to blame / impute (a cause or fault) to someone' — typically pairs with 于 to introduce the target. Heavier and more written than the everyday 怪.

verb
to blame (something) on (someone)to impute

Examples

  • 归咎。
    Tā bǎ shī bài guī jiù yú zhǔn bèi bù zú.
    He blamed the failure on insufficient preparation.
  • 归咎，。
    Bú yào zǒng shì guī jiù bié rén, xiān kàn kàn zì jǐ.
    Don't always blame others; look at yourself first.
  • 归咎。
    Zhè cì shì gù bù néng wán quán guī jiù yú sī jī.
    This accident cannot be entirely blamed on the driver.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

归guīassign
咎jiùblame

归 means to assign or return, 咎 means blame, so the whole means to assign blame.

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 歸; 归 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤ancient form of {{zh-l|*師|troops}}
  • 帚帚zhǒubroom; sweep

The traditional form 歸 combines 𠂤 (troops) and 帚 (broom; sweep) to show sweeping away an enemy and returning; the simplified 归 is a later abbreviation.

Open 归 →

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

The old form paired 人 (person) with 夊 (foot); 口 (mouth) was later added to make 咎.

Open 咎 →
Appears in
Conflict & Agreement

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