欺侮 (qī wǔ) — to bully; to humiliate | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

欺侮 means to bully or humiliate someone, usually someone weaker. It is stronger and more literary than 欺负, and is typically written rather than spoken.

verb

to bullyto humiliate

Examples

欺侮。
Rèn hé xíng shì de qī wǔ dōu shì bù kě jiē shòu de.
Any form of bullying is unacceptable.
欺侮。
Ruò zhě bú yīng gāi bèi qiáng zhě qī wǔ.
The weak should not be bullied by the strong.
欺侮，。
Tā dāng zhòng qī wǔ tā, ràng tā hěn nán kān.
He humiliated her in public, making her very embarrassed.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

侮wǔinsult

欺 and 侮 both mean to mistreat or insult, together giving a stronger sense of bullying.

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.

其欠欺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

欠欠qiànbreath

Sound part声符shēngfú

其

其qí欺qī

Same sound today

欺 is made of 其, which gives its sound, and 欠, which means breath.

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

人人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

每

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

侮 pairs 人, a person, with 每 as a sound component; the person part shows the meaning concerns a person.

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