鬼话 (guǐ huà) — nonsense; lie; bullshit

Definition

A colloquial, dismissive word for outright lies or nonsense — much stronger and cruder than 谎话 ('lie'). Used when the speaker is angry or contemptuous, not in formal contexts.

noun
nonsenseliebullshit
Measure word · 篇

Examples

  • 鬼话，。
    Bié tīng tā shuō de guǐ huà, quán shì piàn rén de.
    Don't listen to his nonsense — it's all lies.
  • 鬼话？
    Zhè zhǒng guǐ huà jū rán yě yǒu rén xìn?
    Can people actually believe this kind of bullshit?
  • 鬼话，。
    Tā mǎn zuǐ guǐ huà, yí jù zhēn huà dōu méi yǒu.
    He's full of lies — not a single truthful word.

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.

鬼guǐghost
话huàspeech

鬼 means ghost and 话 means speech, so the words are like a ghost's, i.e. nonsense.

Characters in this word

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

鬼 originally drew a kneeling figure with an ugly face, perhaps a mask; the small lower right dot is a later added tail.

Open 鬼 →

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 話; 话 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánword
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑話huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 話, 言 relates to words and 𠯑 gives the sound; the simplified 话 is a shorthand, so its right side is not that sound part.

Open 话 →
Appears in
Communication & Speech

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