讥笑 (jī xiào) — to sneer, to mock | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

讥笑 (jī xiào) means 'to sneer at / mock' with contempt — colder and harsher than 嘲笑. 讽刺 uses irony to criticize ideas, while 讥笑 directly attacks the person with open contempt.

verb

to sneerto mock

Examples

讥笑。
Tā bú yīng gāi jī xiào bié rén de nǔ lì.
He shouldn't sneer at others' efforts.
讥笑，。
Tā men jī xiào le wǒ de xiǎng fǎ, ràng wǒ hěn nán guò.
They sneered at my idea and made me very sad.
讥笑。
Tóng xué de jī xiào bìng méi yǒu ràng tā fàng qì.
His classmates' sneering did not make him give up.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

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

'讥笑' pairs 讥 and 笑, mocking and laughing at 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 譏; 讥 is its simplified writing.

言幾譏

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

幾

幾jī譏jī

Same sound today

The traditional form 譏 pairs 言 (speech) with 幾, which gives the sound; the simplified 讥 is a later shorthand.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

艸

艸cǎo笑xiào

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

An early 笑 used the grass 艸 for the sound and the dog 犬 for the meaning; later it was written with 竹 and 夭.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Communication & Speech

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