疲惫 (pí bèi) — exhausted, weary, drained

Definition

Literary/formal 'exhausted' — stronger and more written than the everyday 累, and stronger than 疲劳 or 疲倦. Often describes prolonged physical or mental weariness.

adjective
exhaustedwearydrained

Examples

  • 疲惫
    Lián xù gōng zuò le shí gè xiǎo shí zhī hòu, tā gǎn dào fēi cháng pí bèi.
    After working continuously for ten hours, he felt extremely exhausted.
  • 疲惫
    pí bèi De shēng huó ràng tā kāi shǐ sī kǎo gǎi biàn.
    The weary life made him start thinking about change.
  • 疲惫
    Tā pí bèi dì bì shàng le yǎn jing, xiǎng xiū xi yí huì r.
    She closed her eyes wearily, wanting to rest for a while.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

tired
bèiworn out

疲惫 joins 疲 'tired' and 惫 'worn out', giving the sense of being exhausted.

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
sick
Sound part声符shēngfú
Same sound today

疲 pairs 疒, which shows illness, with 皮, which gives its sound; the character means sick and tired.

Open 疲 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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