政客 (zhèng kè) — (derogatory) politician | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A derogatory term for 'politician' — implies someone self-serving or scheming for power, not a neutral label. Use 政治家 (or just 政治家) for a respected political figure.

noun

(derogatory) politician

Measure word · 个

Examples

政客，。
Zhè xiē zhèng kè zhī zhī dào zhēng quán duó lì, bù kǎo lǜ rén mín.
These politicians only care about power struggles, not the people.
政客，。
Tā bú guò shì yí gè jiǎo huá de zhèng kè, bù zhí dé xìn rèn.
He is nothing but a cunning politician, not worthy of trust.
政客。
Xuǎn mín duì nà bāng zhèng kè gǎn dào fēi cháng shī wàng.
Voters are very disappointed with that bunch of politicians.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

政zhèngpolitics

客kèperson

“政” refers to politics and “客” a person involved, forming a derogatory term for politician.

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

攴攴pūaction

Sound part声符shēngfú

正

正zhèng政zhèng

Same sound today

政 combines 正, which gives the sound, with 攴, an action-related part.

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

宀各客

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀miánroof

Sound part声符shēngfú

各

各gè客kè

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 客, 宀 is a roof and 各 gives the sound; the character meant a guest.

Appears in

Government & Politics

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