贬义词 (biǎn yì cí) — derogatory term; pejorative

Definition

A word carrying negative emotional connotation — the opposite of 褒义词 (commendatory). Often translated as "derogatory" or "pejorative."

noun
derogatory termpejorative

Examples

  • 贬义词，。
    Zhè ge cí shì gè biǎn yì cí, bú yào suí biàn yòng lái chēng hu bié rén.
    This word is a derogatory term; don't casually use it to address others.
  • 贬义词。
    Hěn duō fāng yán lǐ dōu yǒu biǎo shì yú chǔn de biǎn yì cí.
    Many dialects have pejorative terms for stupidity.
  • 贬义词，。
    Pàn duàn yí gè cí shì bāo yì cí hái shì biǎn yì cí, yào kàn tā de gǎn qíng sè cǎi.
    To determine whether a word is a commendatory term or a derogatory term, you need to look at its emotional connotation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

贬义derogatory meaning
贬biǎndepreciatory义yìmeaning
偏正Modifier + head
词cíword

贬义 'derogatory meaning' narrows 词 'word' to a pejorative term.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貶; 贬 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 貶 pairs 貝 (shell) with 乏 giving the sound; the simplified 贬 is a later shorthand.

Open 贬 →

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 義; 义 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
羊羊yáng
Sound part声符shēngfú
我
我wǒ義yì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 義 has 我 giving the sound and 羊 meaning good or auspicious; the simplified 义 is a later abbreviation.

Open 义 →

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 詞; 词 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
司
司sī詞cí(r)
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 詞 uses 言, meaning speech, and 司 to show how it was pronounced; the simplified 词 is a shorthand, and its right side is not the historical sound part.

Open 词 →

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