诡诈 (guǐ zhà) — crafty, treacherous, deceitful | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Formal/literary adjective meaning 'crafty, deceitful' — focuses on deliberately deceptive intent, stronger and more written than 狡猾 (cunning, more colloquial). Often describes tactics or opponents rather than personality.

adjective

craftytreacherousdeceitful

Examples

诡诈。
Tā nà xiē guǐ zhà de shǒu duàn chí zǎo huì bèi kàn chuān de.
His crafty tactics will eventually be seen through.
诡诈，。
Zhè ge rén zhēn guǐ zhà, yí jù zhēn huà yě bù shuō.
This person is truly deceitful; he doesn't speak a single true word.
诡诈。
Shāng yè tán pàn shí yào dī fáng guǐ zhà de duì shǒu.
In business negotiations, be wary of treacherous opponents.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

诈zhàdeceive

Cunning and deceit together: 诡 means 'sly' and 诈 means 'deceive'.

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 詭; 诡 is its simplified writing.

言危詭

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

危

危wēi詭guǐ

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

The traditional form 詭 pairs 言 (say) with 危 as a sound part; the simplified 诡 is a later abbreviation.

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 詐; 诈 is its simplified writing.

言乍詐

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

乍

乍zhà詐zhà

Same sound today

The traditional form 詐 shows 言 (speech) plus 乍 as a sound part; the simplified 诈 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

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