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挫败 (cuò bài) — to thwart, to foil (someone's plans or efforts)

Definition

挫败 (cuò bài) means actively foiling someone's plans — like thwarting an attack. It differs from 失败, which describes one's own failure, and from 挫折, the setback itself rather than the act of causing it.

verb
to thwartto foil (someone's plans or efforts)

Examples

  • 挫败。
    Jǐng fāng chéng gōng cuò bài le zhè qǐ kǒng bù xí jī.
    The police successfully foiled this terrorist attack.
  • 挫败。
    Dí rén de yīn móu bèi chè dǐ cuò bài le.
    The enemy's conspiracy was thoroughly thwarted.
  • 挫败。
    Zhè cì xíng dòng cuò bài le tā men de kuò zhāng jì huà.
    This operation thwarted their expansion plans.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

挫cuòfrustrate or foil
败bàidefeat or fail

挫 and 败 both convey frustrating or defeating, together meaning to thwart or cause failure.

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shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
坐
坐zuò挫cuò
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

挫 is written with 扌, a hand shape, beside 坐, which gives its sound.

Open 挫 →

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Success & Failure

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.