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激怒 (jī nù) — to enrage, to infuriate, to exasperate

Definition

verb
to enrageto infuriateto exasperate

Examples

  • 激怒。
    Tā de huà jī nù le zài chǎng de suǒ yǒu rén.
    His words enraged everyone present.
  • 激怒。
    Tā de tài dù jī nù le lǎo shī.
    His attitude infuriated the teacher.
  • 激怒。
    Zhè zhǒng bù gōng píng de dài yù jī nù le suǒ yǒu yuán gōng.
    This unfair treatment enraged all the employees.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

激jīincite
怒nùangry

激怒 means to 激 someone until they become 怒, so the action leads to anger.

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
敫
敫jiǎo激jī
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 激, the 氵 side marks water, and 敫 gives the sound jiǎo; the original sense is water swashing.

Open 激 →

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
奴
奴nú怒nù
Same sound today

怒 pairs 心 (heart) with 奴, which is used for its sound rather than its meaning of slave.

Open 怒 →
Appears in
Emotions & Feelings

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