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无耻之徒 (wú chǐ zhī tú) — a shameless person; shameless individual

Definition

A strongly negative written label for 'a shameless person.' 比 坏人 stronger in moral condemnation — emphasizes having no sense of shame rather than just being bad.

noun
a shameless personshameless individual

Examples

  • ，无耻之徒。
    Tā jū rán zuò chū zhè zhǒng shì, zhēn shì wú chǐ zhī tú.
    He actually did such a thing — what a shameless person.
  • 无耻之徒。
    Nà ge wú chǐ zhī tú wèi le qián shén me dōu gān dé chū lái.
    That shameless person will do anything for money.
  • 无耻之徒。
    Rén rén dōu mà tā shì wú chǐ zhī tú.
    Everyone calls him a shameless person.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

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
耳耳ěr
Sound part声符shēngfú
止
止zhǐ耻chǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

耻 is written with 耳 (ear) on the left and 止 on the right. Here 止 gives the sound, while 耳 is the meaning part.

Open 耻 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

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
辵辵chuòwalk
Sound part声符shēngfú
土
土tǔ徒tú
Same sound today

徒 originally paired 辵, a walking sign, with 土 to show its sound. The shape later changed into 彳 and 走.

Open 徒 →
Appears in
People (General)Personality & Traits

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