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狂吠 (kuáng fèi) — (figurative) to bark nonsense, to speak arrogantly or recklessly; (literal, rare) to bark furiously (of a dog)

Definition

Literally 'bark furiously' (of a dog), but almost always used figuratively to mock someone for shouting arrogant, reckless nonsense — as in 政客的狂吠. Highly pejorative.

verb
(figurative) to bark nonsense, to speak arrogantly or recklessly(literal, rare) to bark furiously (of a dog)

Examples

  • 狂吠，。
    Tā zhī huì kuáng fèi, ná bù chū rèn hé zhèng jù.
    He can only bark nonsense and can't produce any evidence.
  • 狂吠，。
    Nà xiē zhèng kè zài tái shàng kuáng fèi, tái xià méi rén dàng zhēn.
    Those politicians are barking nonsense on stage; nobody in the audience takes them seriously.
  • 狂吠，。
    Shēn yè tīng dào wài miàn yǒu gǒu kuáng fèi, ràng rén hài pà.
    Hearing a dog barking furiously outside late at night is frightening.

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.

狂kuángwild
吠fèibark

狂 adds wild intensity to 吠, giving a furious bark.

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
犭Written in full as犬quǎndog
Sound part声符shēngfú
㞷
㞷㞷狂kuáng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

狂 pairs 犭 (dog) with 㞷, which gives the sound; 㞷 is an old form of a character meaning 'to go'.

Open 狂 →

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

吠 combines 口 (mouth) and 犬 (dog), giving the idea of a dog barking.

Open 吠 →
Appears in
Animals & MammalsCommunication & Speech

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