暴殄天物 (bào tiǎn tiān wù) — to recklessly waste precious resources; to squander something valuable

Definition

A written idiom meaning to recklessly waste or misuse something valuable — originally about grain/nature's gifts, now extended to any resource, talent, or object. Used to criticize waste; more literary and forceful than 浪费.

idiom
to recklessly waste precious resourcesto squander something valuable

Examples

  • ，暴殄天物。
    Zhè me duō shí wù dōu rēng diào le, zhēn shì bào tiǎn tiān wù.
    Throwing away so much food is truly a reckless waste.
  • ，暴殄天物。
    Tā huā dà jià qián mǎi lái què bú yòng, jiǎn zhí shì bào tiǎn tiān wù.
    He spent a lot of money to buy it but doesn't use it — it's simply squandering.
  • ，暴殄天物。
    Gōng sī bǎ zhè me yōu xiù de rén cái xián zhì bú yòng, wú yì yú bào tiǎn tiān wù.
    The company leaves such excellent talent idle — it's no different from wasting precious resources.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

暴殄waste and destroy
暴bàowaste殄tiǎndestroy
联合Side by side
天物natural things
天tiānheaven/natural物wùthings
偏正Modifier + head

“暴殄” gives waste or destroy, and “天物” gives natural things, describing squandered resources.

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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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
牛牛niú
Sound part声符shēngfú
勿
勿wù物wù
Same sound today

物 puts 牛 beside 勿: 牛 gives the meaning, and 勿 gives the sound.

Open 物 →

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