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暴徒 (bào tú) — thug, ruffian, mob member

Definition

A collective/derogatory noun for violent rioters or mob members (暴 = violent, 徒 = followers). Refers to a group committing public violence, not a single criminal.

noun
thugruffianmob member
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 暴徒。
    Nà xiē bào tú zài jiē shàng dǎ rén.
    Those thugs were beating people on the street.
  • 暴徒。
    Jǐng chá dài bǔ le jǐ míng bào tú.
    The police arrested several thugs.
  • 暴徒。
    bào tú De xíng wéi yǐn qǐ le gōng fèn.
    The thugs' behavior aroused public outrage.

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.

暴bàoviolent
徒túperson

The word combines 暴 meaning violent with 徒 meaning person, so it denotes a violent person.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 暴 →

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
Crime & PolicePeople (General)

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