瘟神 (wēn shén) — (noun) god of plague (in traditional Chinese folklore); (noun, figurative) scourge; person who brings disaster or trouble

Definition

Literally 'god of plague' from Chinese folklore, now used almost entirely as a figurative insult for a person who brings disaster or trouble — e.g. '驱赶瘟神' (get rid of that scourge).

noun
god of plague (in traditional Chinese folklore)(noun, figurative) scourgeperson who brings disaster or trouble

Examples

  • 瘟神。
    Gǔ dài rén rèn wéi wēn yì shì wēn shén dài lái de.
    Ancient people believed that plagues were brought by the god of plague.
  • 瘟神。
    Zhè ge tān guān jiǎn zhí shì lǎo bǎi xìng de wēn shén.
    This corrupt official is basically a scourge to the common people.
  • 瘟神。
    Wǒ men zhōng yú bǎ wēn shén sòng zǒu le.
    We finally got rid of the scourge (the god of plague).

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.

瘟wēnplague
神shéngod

瘟 names plague, and 神 names a deity.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 瘟 →

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
示示shìgod; deity
Sound part声符shēngfú
申
申shēn神shén
Same sound today

The older form 申 drew lightning, which the ancients regarded as divine; 神 adds 示 (god/deity) to mark that meaning.

Open 神 →

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