瘾君子 (yǐn jūn zǐ) — drug addict; (informal) heavy smoker; chain smoker

Definition

A derogatory colloquial noun meaning 'drug addict'. It's informal and carries moral judgment, stronger and more slangy than neutral terms like 吸毒者.

noun
drug addict(informal) heavy smokerchain smoker
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 瘾君子。
    Hěn duō yǐn jūn zǐ yīn wèi xī dú shī qù le gōng zuò hé jiā tíng.
    Many drug addicts lose their jobs and families because of drug use.
  • ，瘾君子。
    Tā měi tiān chōu sān bāo yān, jiǎn zhí shì gè yǐn jūn zǐ.
    He smokes three packs a day — he's practically a chain smoker.
  • 瘾君子。
    Jǐng fāng zài yí cì xíng dòng zhōng zhuā huò le sān míng yǐn jūn zǐ.
    The police caught three drug addicts in an operation.

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.

瘾yǐnaddiction
君子gentleman
君jūnlord子zǐperson
偏正Modifier + head

瘾 brings the idea of addiction to 君子, making an ironic term for someone devoted to a habit.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 癮; 瘾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
疒疒nè
Sound part声符shēngfú
隱
隱yǐn癮yǐn
Same sound today

The traditional form 癮 uses 疒 to show illness and 隱 for the sound; the simplified 瘾 is a shorthand, so its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 瘾 →

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
口口kǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
尹
尹yǐn君jūn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

君 combines 尹 and 口. Early forms were often interchangeable with 尹, and 口 may show commands or simply be decorative.

Open 君 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
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