混账 (hùn zhàng) — bastard; scoundrel (term of abuse) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A strong spoken insult, 'bastard / scoundrel', used to curse someone whose behavior is outrageous. It's a noun (骂人话), not an adjective for an act.

noun

bastardscoundrel (term of abuse)

Measure word · 个

Examples

混账。
Nǐ zhè ge hùn zhàng zhēn kě hèn.
You bastard, how hateful!
混账，。
Tā zhēn shì gè hùn zhàng, jìng rán tōu dōng xi.
He's a real scoundrel, actually stealing things.
“混账”。
Nà wèi gù kè mà le yí jù "hùn zhàng".
That customer cursed, 'Bastard!'

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.

账zhàngaccounts

混 and 账 together form an abusive term for a disgraceful scoundrel, not a mixed account.

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.

氵昆混

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐ

Sound part声符shēngfú

昆

昆kūn混hùn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

混 pairs 氵 (water) on the left with 昆 on the right, which supplies the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賬; 账 is its simplified writing.

貝長賬

Meaning part形符xíngfú

貝貝bèishell

Sound part声符shēngfú

長

長cháng賬

Same sound today

In the traditional form 賬, 貝 is a shell and 長 is used for the sound; the simplified 账 is a later shorthand, not the historical shape.

Appears in

Personality & Traits

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