渔猎 (yú liè) — (formal) fishing and hunting (as a livelihood); (figurative) to seek illegal or improper gain; to prey upon

Definition

Literally 'fishing and hunting', used formally for ancient or traditional subsistence livelihoods. Figuratively, it means preying on others to gain improper benefits — the predatory sense seen in phrases like 非法渔猎.

noun
(formal) fishing and hunting (as a livelihood)(figurative) to seek illegal or improper gainto prey upon

Examples

  • 渔猎。
    Gǔ dài rén kào yú liè hé cǎi jí wéi shēng.
    Ancient people lived by fishing, hunting, and gathering.
  • 渔猎。
    Zhè jiā gōng sī shè xián lì yòng nèi mù xìn xī yú liè lì yì.
    This company is suspected of using insider information to seek illegal gains.
  • 渔猎。
    Fǎ lǜ yán lì dǎ jī fēi fǎ yú liè xíng wéi.
    The law severely cracks down on illegal predatory behavior.

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.

渔yúfishing
猎lièhunting

Fishing and hunting are parallel activities, giving a livelihood and figuratively preying on others.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 漁; 渔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 漁 pairs 氵 (water) with 魚 (fish), and 魚 gives the sound. The simplified 渔 is a later shorthand.

Open 渔 →

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
犬犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī猎liè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 猎, the left part 犬 means dog and the right part 昔 provides the sound.

Open 猎 →

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