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暴 (bào) — sudden and violent; cruel, savage; short-tempered, irritable

Definition

Used in fixed compounds like 暴力 (violence) and 暴躁 (irritable) for a sudden, violent, or fierce quality — as a standalone it is uncommon; 残暴 emphasizes cruelty.

adjective
sudden and violentcruelsavageshort-temperedirritable

Examples

  • ，。
    bào Fēng yǔ lái le, dà jiā kuài huí jiā.
    The storm has come; everyone hurry home.
  • ，。
    Tā de pí qi hěn bào zào, dòng bu dòng jiù fā huǒ.
    His temper is very irritable; he gets angry at the slightest thing.
  • 。
    Zhè tiáo lù bào lù chū hěn duō wèn tí.
    This road exposed many problems.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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

The earliest form paired 虎 and 戈, a tiger and a weapon. The later 暴 came from a picture of hands drying something in the sun.

Appears in
Personality & Traits5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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