背叛 (bèi pàn) — to betray | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

背叛 means to betray — to break loyalty to a person, group, or country. Stronger than 辜负 (just letting someone down) and more personal than 出卖 (which often implies selling out for gain).

verb

to betray

Examples

背叛，。
Tā bèi pàn le zì jǐ de guó jiā, chéng le pàn tú.
He betrayed his own country and became a traitor.
背叛。
Tā bù néng yuán liàng zhàng fu de bèi pàn.
She cannot forgive her husband's betrayal.
背叛。
bèi pàn Péng you de rén bù zhí dé xìn rèn.
People who betray friends are not trustworthy.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

背bèiturn against

背 and 叛 both express turning against 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.

北月背

Meaning part形符xíngfú

月Written in full as肉ròumeat

Sound part声符shēngfú

北

北běi背bèi

Same sound today

背 was first written as 北; 北 gives the sound, and 肉 (meat, written as 月 here) was added to separate it from 北’s north meaning.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

半反叛

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

半

半bàn叛pàn

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叛 pairs 反 as its meaning part with 半 as its sound part.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Conflict & Agreement 2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words 5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.