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调戏 (tiáo xì) — to sexually harass (a woman); to take liberties with (a woman)

Definition

Verb for 'to sexually harass / grope' a woman — a deliberate, offensive act (as in the crime of molestation). 调戏 is a transitive verb taking a person as its object.

verb
to sexually harass (a woman)to take liberties with (a woman)

Examples

  • 。
    Nà ge nán rén yīn wèi zài gōng gòng qì chē shàng tiáo xì nǚ xìng ér bèi dài bǔ.
    That man was arrested for molesting women on the bus.
  • 调戏，。
    Tā hē zuì hòu jìng rán gǎn tiáo xì nǚ fú wù yuán, zhēn shì wú chǐ.
    How dare he molest the waitress after getting drunk — utterly shameless.
  • 调戏。
    Fǎ lǜ yán chéng tiáo xì fù nǚ de xíng wéi.
    The law severely punishes acts of molesting women.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

调tiáotease
戏xìplay

调 and 戏 both carry teasing and playful senses.

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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 戲; 戏 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
戈戈gēhalberd
Sound part声符shēngfú
䖒
䖒䖒戲xì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 戲, the shape combines 戈 (halberd) with 䖒, which gives the sound; the word originally meant an army's wing or flank. The simplified 戏 is a later shorthand, not the form described here.

Open 戏 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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