败绩 (bài jì) — to be utterly defeated (formal/literary)

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to suffer a crushing, total defeat' — far stronger than 失败 ('to fail') and used almost only in writing or historical/news contexts.

verb
to be utterly defeated (formal/literary)

Examples

  • 败绩。
    Dí jūn zài zhàn chǎng shàng bài jì.
    The enemy army was utterly defeated on the battlefield.
  • ，败绩。
    Zhè cì xuǎn jǔ zhōng, gāi zhèng dǎng bài jì.
    In this election, that party suffered a crushing defeat.
  • ，败绩。
    Lì shǐ shàng, zhè zhī jūn duì cóng wèi bài jì.
    Historically, this army was never utterly defeated.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

败bàiruin
绩jìachievement

败 (ruin) and 绩 (achievement) combine to mean suffering a crushing defeat.

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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 績; 绩 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìthread
Sound part声符shēngfú
責
責zé績jì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 績 pairs 糸, thread, with 責 for the sound; the simplified 绩 is a later abbreviation.

Open 绩 →

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