TongTong
Sign in

有失 (yǒu shī) — to be lacking in (something expected); to fail to maintain (a standard)

Definition

有失 (yǒu) is a formal, written construction meaning 'to fall short of (a standard)' — always followed by a quality like 体面 or 公允. Use it in formal judgments, not everyday speech.

verb
to be lacking in (something expected)to fail to maintain (a standard)

Examples

  • 有失。
    Tā de yán xíng yǒu shī tǐ miàn.
    His words and actions lacked dignity.
  • 有失。
    Zhè zhǒng píng jià yǒu shī gōng yǔn.
    This kind of evaluation is unfair.
  • ，有失。
    Zuò wéi zhǎng bèi, tā zhè yàng zuò yǒu shī shēn fèn.
    As an elder, doing this is beneath his dignity.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

有yǒuhave
失shīloss/fault

有 indicates a 失, a loss or fault, so something falls short.

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
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →
Appears in
Good & Bad

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.