贼 (zéi) — thief; cunning, deceitful
Definition
贼 (zéi) is both noun 'thief' and adjective 'cunning/deceitful' — slightly literary; 小偷儿 is the everyday word for thief. As an adjective, it's stronger and more derogatory than 狡猾.
thiefcunningdeceitful
Measure word · 个
Examples
- 贼。Nà ge zéi bèi jǐng chá zhuā zhù le.That thief was caught by the police.
- 贼，。Zhè ge rén hěn zéi, bú yào xiāng xìn tā.This person is very deceitful, don't trust him.
- 贼，。Tā tài zéi le, méi rén xǐ huan tā.He is too deceitful, nobody likes him.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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 賊; 贼 is its simplified writing.
Sound part声符shēngfú
則
則zé賊zéi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
The traditional 賊 combines 戈, a weapon, with 則 to give the pronunciation; the simplified 贼 is a later shorthand and its parts are not the historical components.
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