鄙夷 (bǐ yí) — to look down upon, to despise (formal/literary)

Definition

A formal/literary verb meaning 'to look down on, despise'. Stronger and more written than 蔑视, which is the everyday 'look down on' verb.

verb

to look down uponto despise (formal/literary)

鄙夷。
Tā nà zhǒng bǐ yí de mù guāng ràng rén hěn bù shū fu.
That contemptuous look of his made people very uncomfortable.
鄙夷。
Duì ruò zhě bù yīng cǎi qǔ bǐ yí de tài dù.
One should not adopt a contemptuous attitude toward the weak.
，鄙夷。
Tā miè shì quán guì, bǐ yí qū yán fù shì zhī bèi.
He scorns the powerful and looks down on those who curry favor with them.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

鄙bǐcontempt

夷yídespise

Both parts express contempt, so the word means to look down on something.

Characters in this word

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

鄙 began as 啚, a form for border town. It later adds 邑, a city, beside it.

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

The original form showed 矢 (arrow) with 弓 (rope), and meant shooting arrows. Later forms showed 大 (person) with 弓 (bow).