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贱人 (jiàn rén) — (vulgar, noun) bitch, slut (strong insult for a woman); (historical/literary) lowly person, base person (used in classical texts)

Definition

A strong, vulgar insult for a woman — a swear word, never casual. In historical dramas or classical texts it can mean a 'lowly person' of low social status.

noun
(vulgar, noun) bitchslut (strong insult for a woman)(historical/literary) lowly personbase person (used in classical texts)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • ：“贱人！”
    Tā qì dé dà mà: "nǐ zhè ge jiàn rén!"
    She was so angry she yelled, 'You bitch!'
  • ，贱人。
    Zài gǔ zhuāng jù lǐ, tài hòu mà gōng nǚ wèi jiàn rén.
    In period dramas, the empress dowager scolds the maids as 'base persons'.
  • ，贱人。
    Zhè ge cí shì zāng huà, qiān wàn bú yào suí biàn shuō jiàn rén.
    This word is profanity — never casually say it.

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.

贱jiànbase
人rénperson

贱 base and 人 person together form a strong insult.

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 賤; 贱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèi
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān賤jiàn
Same sound today

The traditional form 賤 uses 貝 to carry the meaning and 戔 for the sound; the simplified 贱 is a later shorthand.

Open 贱 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →
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