报仇 (bào chóu) — to take revenge, to avenge

Definition

报仇 means to avenge a specific wrong or grudge (报这个仇). Unlike 报复, it focuses on settling a personal grievance rather than retaliating more broadly.

verb

to take revengeto avenge

Examples

报仇。
Tā fā shì yí dìng yào bào chóu.
He swore he would take revenge.
？
Nǐ dǎ suàn zěn me bào zhè ge chóu?
How do you plan to avenge this?
，。
Tā děng le shí nián, zhōng yú bào le yí cì chóu.
He waited ten years and finally took revenge once.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

报bàoavenge or repay

仇chóuenmity

报 means to avenge or repay, and 仇 is the enmity to be repaid, giving the idea of taking revenge.

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 報; 报 is its simplified writing.

㚔㚔㚔handcuffs
𠬝𠬝𠬝to subdue

The traditional form 報 puts 㚔 (handcuffs) beside 𠬝 (to subdue), showing someone restrained and subdued, as in convicting or punishing a guilty person. The simplified 报 is a later shorthand.

Open 报 →

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

亻九仇

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

九

九jiǔ仇⁰qiú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

仇 has 亻, a person, and 九, which gives the sound.

Open 仇 →

Appears in