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把戏 (bǎ xì) — cheap trick; dirty trick; game (often implying deception or manipulation); impish or mischievous person

Definition

A 把戏 (bǎxì) is literally a 'juggle / conjuring trick' — by extension, a cheap trick or someone's usual game when it implies deception. Note: also used for an impish person who teases.

noun
cheap trickdirty trickgame (often implying deception or manipulation)impish or mischievous person
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 把戏，。
    Bié shuǎ zhè zhǒng bǎ xì le, wǒ men dōu zhī dào zhēn xiàng.
    Don't play this cheap trick; we all know the truth.
  • ，。
    Zhè bú guò shì tā de lǎo bǎ xì, méi shén me xīn yì.
    This is just his old game, nothing new.
  • ，。
    Nà ge xiǎo hái zhēn shì gè bǎ xì, zǒng ài zhuō nòng rén.
    That kid is really a mischievous person, always loves to tease.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

把bǎhold
戏xìplay

Holding and playing together suggest a trick or game.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
巴
巴bā把bǎ
Same sound today

把 combines 扌, a hand, with 巴 for its sound.

Open 把 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →
Appears in
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