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瞧不起 (qiáo bù qǐ) — to look down on (someone); to despise

Definition

A fixed colloquial verb meaning 'to look down on, despise'. Slightly stronger and more contemptuous than 看不起, and far more negative than just noting a gap (e.g. 看不起 vs 看不上).

verb
to look down on (someone)to despise

Examples

  • 瞧不起，。
    Tā zǒng xǐ huan qiáo bù qǐ bié rén, hěn ràng rén tǎo yàn.
    He always likes to look down on others, which is very annoying.
  • ，瞧不起。
    Tā suī rán chū shēn pín hán, dàn cóng bù qiáo bù qǐ zì jǐ.
    Although she comes from a poor family, she never despises herself.
  • ，瞧不起。
    Zài zhí chǎng zhōng, bú yào qiáo bù qǐ nà xiē zàn shí bù rú nǐ de rén.
    In the workplace, don't look down on those who are temporarily inferior to you.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

瞧qiáolook
不起not up
不bùnot起qǐrise; up
偏正Modifier + head

瞧 'look' and 不起 'not up' combine to mean look down on someone.

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
目目mùeye
Sound part声符shēngfú
焦
焦jiāo瞧qiáo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 目 is an eye, and the right part 焦 gives the character's sound.

Open 瞧 →

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

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

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
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
巳
巳sì起qǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

起 is made from 走 and 巳: 走 is the part connected with walking or running, and 巳 gives the sound.

Open 起 →
Appears in
Attitudes & Opinions

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