缺德 (quē dé) — (stative verb) morally deficient, unscrupulous,…

Definition

adjective

(stative verb) morally deficientunscrupulouslacking conscience

缺德，。
Zhè yàng de rén zhēn quē dé, lián lǎo rén yě piàn.
A person like this is really unscrupulous—they even cheat the elderly.
缺德，。
Tā zuò zhè zhǒng quē dé de shì, chí zǎo huì zāo bào yìng.
Doing such immoral things, he'll eventually face the consequences.
缺德，。
Dà jiā dōu shuō tā tài quē dé, méi rén yuàn yì gēn tā hé zuò.
Everyone says he's too mean; nobody is willing to cooperate with him.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

缺 (lack) + 德 (virtue) describes someone who lacks moral virtue.

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.

缶夬缺

Meaning part形符xíngfú

缶缶fǒuearthen pot

Sound part声符shēngfú

夬

夬guài缺quē

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

缺 pairs 缶, an earthen pot, with 夬, which gives the sound.

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

彳彳chìroad

Sound part声符shēngfú

惪

惪dé德dé

Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Appears in