Definition
憎 (zēng) is a bound morpheme meaning 'to hate' or 'to detest'. It cannot stand alone as an independent word — you must combine it with another character to form a compound, most commonly 憎恨 ('to hate') or 憎恶 ('to loathe'). It also appears in the set phrase 爱憎分明 ('to clearly distinguish love and hate'). This is more formal and literary than the standalone verb 恨; learners should use it in its compound forms only.
b.f.
to hateto detest (bound morpheme, always used in compounds like 憎恨, 憎恶)
Examples
- 憎，。Tā ài zēng fēnmíng, cóng bù yǎnshì zìjǐ de gǎnqíng.He clearly distinguishes love and hate, never hiding his feelings.
- 。Rénmen dōu zēng hèn zhè zhǒng bù gōngzhèng de duìdài.People all hate this kind of unfair treatment.
- 。Tā duì nà zhǒng xíngwéi chōngmǎn zēng wù.He is full of loathing for that kind of behavior.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.