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鼠辈 (shǔ bèi) — scoundrel; contemptible person (derogatory, lit. 'rat generation')

Definition

A literary, strongly derogatory insult meaning 'scoundrel, contemptible person', literally 'rat-kind'. Used in writing or heated speech to condemn someone as despicable.

noun
scoundrelcontemptible person (derogatory, lit. 'rat generation')

Examples

  • 鼠辈，！
    Nǐ zhè ge shǔ bèi, jìng gǎn bèi pàn wǒ!
    You scoundrel, how dare you betray me!
  • 鼠辈，。
    Yì qún shǔ bèi, zhī huì àn zhōng shǐ huài.
    A bunch of rats, they only do dirty tricks in the dark.
  • 鼠辈。
    Tā mà nà xiē gào mì zhě wèi shǔ bèi.
    He cursed those informers as scoundrels.

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.

鼠shǔrat
辈bèiclass

鼠 (rat) and 辈 (class) form a contemptuous class of person.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 鼠 pictures a rat: the upper part looks like an open mouth with teeth, while the lower part shows two feet on the left and a tail on the right.

Open 鼠 →

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 輩; 辈 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
車車jū
Sound part声符shēngfú
非
非fēi輩bèi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 輩 pairs 車 (vehicle) with 非, which gives the sound; this describes 輩, not the simplified 辈.

Open 辈 →
Appears in
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