臭名昭着 (chòu míng zhāo zhù) — to be notorious; to be infamous | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A four-character idiom (成语) meaning 'notorious / infamous' — used to describe someone or something widely known for a BAD reputation. Stronger and more literary than simply saying somebody is ‘famous’.

verb

to be notoriousto be infamous

Examples

臭名昭着。
Tā zài lì shǐ shàng shì yí gè chòu míng zhāo zhù de rén.
He is a notorious figure in history.
臭名昭着，。
Zhè ge zuì fàn yǐ jīng chòu míng zhāo zhù, méi yǒu rén bù zhī dào tā.
This criminal is already notorious; everyone knows him.
臭名昭着，。
Nà zhǒng qīn lüè xíng wéi chòu míng zhāo zhù, yǐn qǐ le quán shì jiè de fèn nù.
That kind of aggressive act is notorious and aroused worldwide anger.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

犬自臭

犬犬quǎndog
自自zìnose

臭 combines 自 (nose) and 犬 (dog), referring to a dog's strong sense of smell; it originally meant 'to smell'.

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

夕口名

夕夕xīcrescent moon
口口kǒumouth

名 puts 夕 (crescent moon) above 口 (mouth), showing a name spoken in the dark.

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

日召昭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

日日rìsun

Sound part声符shēngfú

召

召zhào昭zhāo

Same sound today

昭 combines 日, meaning sun, with 召, which provides the sound.

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 著; 着 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss; plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

者zhě著zháo

Same sound today

The traditional form 著 puts 艸 (grass; plant) above 者, which gives the sound; the simplified 着 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

Idioms & Set Phrases

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