窝里斗 (wō lǐ dǒu) — internal strife, infighting (within a family, organization, or group)

Definition

A set phrase for infighting or petty quarrels inside a family, team, or group — typically useless squabbling rather than productive conflict.

noun
internal strifeinfighting (within a family, organization, or group)

Examples

  • 窝里斗。
    Zhè ge jiā zú yīn wèi wō lǐ dǒu ér sì fēn wǔ liè.
    This family fell apart because of internal infighting.
  • 窝里斗，。
    Gōng sī nèi bù wō lǐ dǒu yán zhòng, yǐng xiǎng le zhěng tǐ xiào lǜ.
    The company's internal strife is serious and has affected overall efficiency.
  • ，窝里斗。
    Tā men bù tuán jié duì wài, fǎn ér zhěng tiān wō lǐ dǒu.
    Instead of uniting against outsiders, they spend all day fighting among themselves.

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.

窝里inside the nest
窝wōnest里lǐinside
偏正Modifier + head
斗dòufight

窝 refers to a nest and 里 to inside, while 斗 means fight, giving the image of fighting inside one's own nest.

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 窩; 窝 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi窩wō
Same sound today

The traditional form 窩 uses 穴, a cave, for meaning and 咼 for sound; the simplified 窝 is a later shorthand.

Open 窝 →

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 裡; 里 is its simplified writing.

The simplified 里 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (里, 里面) it is 裡; in others (公里) it is 里 or 裏.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衤Written in full as衣yīclothes
Sound part声符shēngfú
里
里lǐ裡lǐ
Same sound today

The form 裡 pairs 衤 (clothes) with 里 as a sound component.

Open 里 →

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

The shape of 斗 originally showed a ladle-shaped dipper or cup used to measure grain, held in a hand.

Open 斗 →

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