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胡作非为 (hú zuò fēi wéi) — to commit all kinds of outrages; to behave recklessly and unlawfully

Definition

A strong chengyu meaning to act lawlessly and commit outrages — emphasizes willful, repeated wrongdoing, not a single mistake.

idiom
to commit all kinds of outragesto behave recklessly and unlawfully

Examples

  • 胡作非为，。
    Zhè xiē rén zài cūn lǐ hú zuò fēi wéi, cūn mín men gǎn nù bù gǎn yán.
    These people are committing outrages in the village, and the villagers dare not speak up despite their anger.
  • ，胡作非为。
    Tā zhàng zhe zì jǐ yǒu qián yǒu shì, kāi shǐ hú zuò fēi wéi.
    Relying on his wealth and power, he began to act lawlessly.
  • 胡作非为。
    Shè huì bù néng róng rěn rèn hé rén hú zuò fēi wéi.
    Society cannot tolerate anyone committing outrages.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

胡作reckless doings
胡húreckless作zuòdo
偏正Modifier + head
非为wrongful doings
非fēiwrong为wèido
偏正Modifier + head

“胡作” means reckless doings and “非为” means wrongful doings, together describing lawless 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
⺼Written in full as肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ胡hú
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

胡 combines 古, which points to its sound, with ⺼ (肉), meaning meat or flesh.

Open 胡 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →

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

The shape of 非 is drawn from two wings facing opposite directions. It later came to be used for going against or not being.

Open 非 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 為; 为 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 為 showed a hand holding an elephant; the simplified 为 is a later shorthand.

Open 为 →
Appears in
Crime & PoliceIdioms & Set Phrases

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