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颓废 (tuí fèi) — dispirited, dejected, depressed (of mood or spirit); decadent (of lifestyle or social trend)

Definition

Covers two distinct senses: a personal, emotional low (close to 沮丧) and a broader social/moral 'decadent' (close to 腐朽, but more about lifestyle than corruption). Use the personal sense for people, the figurative sense for trends or culture.

adjective
dispiriteddejecteddepressed (of mood or spirit)decadent (of lifestyle or social trend)

Examples

  • 颓废，。
    Tā zuì jìn hěn tuí fèi, shén me dōu bù xiǎng zuò.
    He has been very dispirited lately and doesn't want to do anything.
  • 颓废。
    Zhè zhǒng tuí fèi de shēng huó fāng shì ràng tā shī qù le hěn duō péng you.
    This kind of decadent lifestyle caused him to lose many friends.
  • 颓废？
    Tā zěn me biàn de zhè me tuí fèi?
    How did he become so dejected?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

颓tuídecay
废fèiuselessness

The 颓 sense of decay and the 废 sense of uselessness combine to describe a decadent state.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 颓 →

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 廢; 废 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
广广guǎnghouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
發
發fā廢fèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 廢 shows 广 as a house and 發 as the sound.

Open 废 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Mental Health

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