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粗鲁 (cū lǔ) — rude; coarse; boorish (in manner)

Definition

Adjective for rude, boorish behavior or manners toward people. 粗暴 is stronger and more violent in force; 粗 focuses on the coarse/rough sense of texture or behavior.

adjective
rudecoarseboorish (in manner)

Examples

  • 粗鲁。
    Zài shè jiāo chǎng hé biǎo xiàn dé tài cū lǔ huì ràng rén fǎn gǎn.
    Being too rude in social settings will make people feel offended.
  • 粗鲁。
    Tā duì fú wù yuán de tài dù fēi cháng cū lǔ.
    His attitude toward the waiter was very rude.
  • ，粗鲁。
    Jí shǐ shēng qì, yě bú yīng gāi yòng cū lǔ de yǔ yán mà rén.
    Even when angry, you shouldn't use rude language to curse.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

粗cūcoarse
鲁lǔboorish

“粗” coarse and “鲁” boorish combine to describe rude, uncouth behavior.

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
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
且
且qiě粗cū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

粗 pairs 米 (rice), which points to its meaning, with 且, which gives a clue to its sound.

Open 粗 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 魯; 鲁 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 魯 pairs 魚 (fish) and 口 (mouth) to show fish entering the mouth, giving the sense delicious/excellent. The simplified 鲁 is a later shorthand, not the original picture.

Open 鲁 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Personality & Traits

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