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"(fig.) bad characters" Chinese-English Dictionary

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Chinese Pinyin Translation
牛鬼蛇神 niú guǐ shé shén evil monsters / (fig.) bad characters / (political) bad elements syn
Chinese Pinyin Translation
音译 音譯 yīn yì transliteration (rendering phonetic value, e.g. of English words in Chinese characters) / characters giving phonetic value of Chinese word or name (when the correct characters may be unknown) / transcription (linguistics) / to transcribe phonetic symbols syn
糟糕 zāo gāo too bad / how terrible / what bad luck / terrible / bad syn
好坏 好壞 hǎo huài good or bad / good and bad / standard / quality / (coll.) very bad syn
龙生九子 龍生九子 lóng shēng jiǔ zǐ lit. the dragon has nine sons (idiom) / fig. all kinds of characters / good and bad intermingled / It takes all sorts to make a world. syn
字典 zì diǎn Chinese character dictionary (containing entries for single characters, contrasted with a 詞典|词典[ci2 dian3], which has entries for words of one or more characters) / (coll.) dictionary / CL:本[ben3]
造字 zào zì to create Chinese characters / cf Six Methods of forming Chinese characters 六書|六书[liu4 shu1]
描红 描紅 miáo hóng to trace over red characters (as a method of learning to write) / paper printed with red characters to trace over
隶 隸 lì (bound form) a person in servitude / low-ranking subordinate / (bound form) to be subordinate to / (bound form) clerical script (the style of characters intermediate between ancient seal and modern regular characters) syn
喃字 nán zì Vietnam characters (like Chinese characters but native to Vietnam)
衍声复词 衍聲複詞 yǎn shēng fù cí compound word, such as 玫瑰[mei2gui1] or 咖啡[ka1fei1], whose meaning is unrelated to the individual characters (Note: These characters are often not used independently in modern Chinese.)
凑合 湊合 còu he to bring together / to make do in a bad situation / to just get by / to improvise / passable / not too bad syn
学坏 學壞 xué huài to follow bad examples / to be corrupted by bad examples
坏分子 壞份子 huài fèn zǐ bad element / bad egg / troublemaker syn
臭 chòu stench / smelly / to smell (bad) / repulsive / loathsome / terrible / bad / severely / ruthlessly / dud (ammunition) syn
染风习俗 染風習俗 rǎn fēng xí sú bad habits / to get into bad habits through long custom
报喜不报忧 報喜不報憂 bào xǐ bù bào yōu to report only the good news, not the bad news / to hold back unpleasant news / to sweep bad news under the carpet
一马勺坏一锅 一馬勺壞一鍋 yī mǎ sháo huài yī guō one ladle (of sth bad) spoils the (whole) pot (idiom) / one bad apple spoils the barrel
遇人不淑 yù rén - bù shū (idiom) to be in a relationship with or marry a bad person / (idiom) to associate with a bad person
一笔不苟 一筆不苟 yī bǐ bù gǒu lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom) / fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
帽子 mào zi hat / cap / (fig.) label / bad name / CL:頂|顶[ding3] syn
下水 xià shuǐ downstream / to go into the water / to put into water / to launch (a ship) / fig. to fall into bad ways / to lead astray / to go to pot syn
玉石 yù shí jade / jade and stone / (fig.) the good and the bad syn
酿成 釀成 niàng chéng to make (wine or spirits) / (fig.) to lead to (a bad result)
洗刷 xǐ shuā to wipe clean / to scrub / (fig.) to get rid of (a bad reputation, a misconception etc) syn
过得去 過得去 guò dé qù lit. can pass through (an opening) / fig. can get by (in life) / tolerably well / not too bad / How are you getting by? / How's life? syn
难兄难弟 難兄難弟 nán xiōng nán dì lit. hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother (idiom) / fig. one is just as bad as the other syn
防空洞 fáng kōng dòng air raid shelter / bomb shelter / (fig.) place that protects bad people / hideout
一丘之貉 yī qiū zhī hé jackals of the same tribe (idiom) / fig. They are all just as bad as each other. syn
霉气 霉氣 méi qì a moldy smell / damp and rotten / fig. rotten bad luck
若要人不知，除非己莫为 若要人不知，除非己莫為 ruò yào rén bù zhī , chú fēi jǐ mò wéi If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it (idiom). fig. If you do something bad, people will inevitably hear about it.
狗改不了吃屎 gǒu gǎi bù liǎo chī shǐ lit. a dog can't stop himself from eating shit (idiom) / fig. bad habits are hard to change
一粒老鼠屎坏了一锅粥 一粒老鼠屎壞了一鍋粥 yī lì lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō zhōu lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of congee (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
一颗老鼠屎坏了一锅汤 一顆老鼠屎壞了一鍋湯 yī kē lǎo shǔ shǐ huài le yī guō tāng lit. one pellet of rat feces spoiled the whole pot of soup (idiom) / fig. one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch
又想当婊子又想立牌坊 又想當婊子又想立牌坊 yòu xiǎng dāng biǎo zi yòu xiǎng lì pái fāng lit. to lead the life of a whore but still want a monument put up to one's chastity (idiom) / fig. to have bad intentions but still want a good reputation / to want to have one's cake and eat it too
苍狗 蒼狗 cāng gǒu (fig.) the unpredictable changeability of the world / bad omen
矬子里拔将军 矬子裡拔將軍 cuó zi lǐ bá jiāng jūn lit. to choose a general among the dwarves (idiom) / fig. to pick the best out of a bad group
上眼药 上眼藥 shàng yǎn yào to apply eye drops / (fig.) to speak ill of sb / to bad-mouth
下毛毛雨 xià máo mao yǔ to drizzle / to rain lightly / (fig.) (coll.) to give (sb) a heads-up / to break (some bad news) gently / to scold mildly
开花 開花 kāi huā to bloom / to blossom / to flower / (fig.) to burst / to split open / (fig.) to burst with joy / (fig.) to spring up everywhere / to flourish syn
热腾腾 熱騰騰 rè téng téng steaming hot / (fig.) bustling / hectic / (fig.) excited / stirred up / (fig.) created only a short time before / freshly minted / hot off the press / (coll.) also pr. [re4 teng1 teng1] syn
鬼扯脚 鬼扯腳 guǐ chě jiǎo lit. ghost pulls your leg / involuntary tug of muscles / fig. very unlucky / fig. argumentative / fig. can't help doing it
外溢 wài yì (of liquid) to spill out / to overflow / (of gas) to leak out / (fig.) to spill over / to spread (to new areas) / (fig.) (of wealth etc) to drain / to flow outward (esp. overseas) / (fig.) (of talent) to show / to be revealed
简体 簡體 jiǎn tǐ simplified form of Chinese characters, as opposed to traditional form 繁體|繁体[fan2 ti3]
字数 字數 zì shù number of written characters / number of words / word count syn
成语 成語 chéng yǔ Chinese set expression, typically of 4 characters, often alluding to a story or historical quotation / idiom / proverb / saying / adage / CL:條|条[tiao2],本[ben3],句[ju4]
五笔 五筆 wǔ bǐ abbr. of 五筆字型|五笔字型, five stroke input method for Chinese characters by numbered strokes, invented by Wang Yongmin 王永民 in 1983
字号 字號 zì hào characters and numbers (as used in a code) / alphanumeric code / serial number
一 yī one / single / a (article) / as soon as / entire / whole / all / throughout / "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1) / also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out numbers digit by digit syn
八字 bā zì the character 8 or 八 / birthdate characters used in fortune-telling syn
乱码 亂碼 luàn mǎ mojibake (nonsense characters displayed when software fails to render text according to its intended character encoding)
会意 會意 huì yì combined ideogram (one of the Six Methods 六書|六书[liu4 shu1] of forming Chinese characters) / Chinese character that combines the meanings of existing elements / also known as joint ideogram or associative compound / to comprehend without being told explicitly / to cotton on / knowing (smile, glance etc) syn
错别字 錯別字 cuò bié zì incorrectly written or mispronounced characters
注音 zhù yīn to indicate the pronunciation of Chinese characters using Pinyin or Bopomofo etc / phonetic notation / (specifically) Bopomofo (abbr. for 注音符號|注音符号[zhu4 yin1 fu2 hao4])
简繁 簡繁 jiǎn fán simple versus traditional (Chinese characters)
童趣 tóng qù qualities that delight children (e.g. bold colors in a picture, anthropomorphized characters in a TV show, the physical challenge of playground equipment) syn
假借 jiǎ jiè to make use of / to use sth as pretext / under false pretenses / under the guise of / masquerading as / lenient / tolerant / loan character (one of the Six Methods 六書|六书 of forming Chinese characters) / character acquiring meanings by phonetic association / also called phonetic loan syn
五笔字型 五筆字型 wǔ bǐ zì xíng five stroke input method for Chinese characters by numbered strokes, invented by Wang Yongmin 王永民 in 1983
五笔输入法 五筆輸入法 wǔ bǐ shū rù fǎ five stroke input method for Chinese characters by numbered strokes, invented by Wang Yongmin 王永民 in 1983
金字 jīn zì gold lettering / gold characters
繁简 繁簡 fán jiǎn complicated and simple / traditional and simplified form of Chinese characters
沙盘 沙盤 shā pán sand table (military) / 3D terrain (or site) model (for real estate marketing, geography class etc) / sand tray (on which to write characters) syn
竖直 豎直 shù zhí vertical / to erect / to set upright / vertical stroke in Chinese characters / young servant (old)
简写 簡寫 jiǎn xiě to write characters in simplified form / the simplified form of a character / to abbreviate (a word or expression) / to write in simple language syn
点 點 diǎn point / dot / drop / speck / o'clock / point (in space or time) / to draw a dot / to check on a list / to choose / to order (food in a restaurant) / to touch briefly / to hint / to light / to ignite / to pour a liquid drop by drop / (old) one fifth of a two-hour watch 更[geng1] / dot stroke in Chinese characters / classifier for items syn
象形 xiàng xíng pictogram / one of the Six Methods 六書|六书 of forming Chinese characters / Chinese character derived from a picture / sometimes called hieroglyph
重码 重碼 chóng mǎ repeated code / coincident code (i.e. two characters or words having the same encoding)
咬文嚼字 yǎo wén jiáo zì to bite words and chew characters (idiom) / punctilious about minutiae of wording syn
练字 練字 liàn zì to practice writing characters
龙套 龍套 lóng tào costume of minor characters in opera, featuring dragon designs / walk-on syn
儿 rén variant of 人[ren2] / "person" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 10), occurring in 兒, 兀, 兄 etc syn
白文 bái wén the text of an annotated book / an unannotated edition of a book / intagliated characters (on a seal) syn
碟仙 dié xiān form of divination similar to the Ouija board, in which participants use their forefingers to push a small saucer over a sheet of paper inscribed with numerous Chinese characters
拆字 chāi zì fortune telling by unpicking Chinese characters syn
直 zhí straight / to straighten / fair and reasonable / frank / straightforward / (indicates continuing motion or action) / vertical / vertical downward stroke in Chinese characters syn
金印 jīn yìn golden seal / characters tattooed on a convict's face
切 qiè definitely / absolutely (not) / (scoffing or dismissive interjection) Yeah, right. / Tut! / to grind / (bound form) close to / (bound form) eager / to correspond to / (used to indicate that the fanqie 反切[fan3 qie4] system should be applied to the previous two characters) syn
习字 習字 xí zì to practice writing characters
方块字 方塊字 fāng kuài zì Chinese characters syn
黑体字 黑體字 hēi tǐ zì bold characters / bold font
形声 形聲 xíng shēng ideogram plus phonetic (one of the Six Methods 六書|六书 of forming Chinese characters) / also known as phonogram, phonetic compound or picto-phonetic character
广 yǎn "house on a cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 53), occurring in 店, 序, 底 etc syn
六书 六書 liù shū Six Methods of forming Chinese characters, according to Han dictionary Shuowen 說文|说文 - namely, two primary methods: 象形 (pictogram), 指事 (ideogram), two compound methods: 會意|会意 (combined ideogram), 形聲|形声 (ideogram plus phonetic), and two transfer methods: 假借 (loan), 轉注|转注 (transfer)
五刑 wǔ xíng imperial five punishments of feudal China, up to Han times: tattooing characters on the forehead 墨[mo4], cutting off the nose 劓[yi4], amputation of one or both feet 刖[yue4], castration 宮|宫[gong1], execution 大辟[da4 pi4] / Han dynasty onwards: whipping 笞[chi1], beating the legs and buttocks with rough thorns 杖[zhang4], forced labor 徒[tu2], exile or banishment 流[liu2], capital punishment 死[si3]
象形字 xiàng xíng zì pictogram (one of the Six Methods 六書|六书 of forming Chinese characters) / Chinese character derived from a picture / sometimes called hieroglyph
反切 fǎn qiè traditional system expressing the phonetic value of a Chinese character using two other characters, the first for the initial consonant, the second for the rhyme and tone
笔 筆 bǐ pen / pencil / writing brush / to write or compose / the strokes of Chinese characters / classifier for sums of money, deals / CL:支[zhi1],枝[zhi1] syn
厂 hǎn "cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 27), occurring in 原, 历, 压 etc syn
鸟 鳥 niǎo bird / CL:隻|只[zhi1],群[qun2] / "bird" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 196) / (dialect) to pay attention to / (intensifier) damned / goddamn syn
繁 fán complicated / many / in great numbers / abbr. for 繁體|繁体[fan2 ti3], traditional form of Chinese characters syn
横 橫 héng horizontal / across / crosswise / horizontal stroke (in Chinese characters) / to place (sth) flat (on a surface) / to cross (a river, etc) / in a jumble / chaotic / (in fixed expressions) harsh and unreasonable / violent syn
尺 chě one of the characters used to represent a musical note in gongche notation, 工尺譜|工尺谱[gong1 che3 pu3] syn
墨 mò ink stick / China ink / CL:塊|块[kuai4] / corporal punishment consisting of tattooing characters on the victim's forehead syn
竹 zhú bamboo / CL:棵[ke1],支[zhi1],根[gen1] / Kangxi radical 118 / "bamboo" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 118) syn
乙 yǐ second of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干[shi2 tian1 gan1] / second in order / letter "B" or Roman "II" in list "A, B, C", or "I, II, III" etc / second party (in legal contract, usually 乙方[yi3 fang1], as opposed to 甲方[jia3 fang1]) / ethyl / bent / winding / radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 5) / ancient Chinese compass point: 105°
乙 zhé turning stroke (in Chinese characters), aka 折[zhe2]
竖 豎 shù to erect / vertical / vertical stroke (in Chinese characters) syn
捺 nà to press down firmly / to suppress / right-falling stroke in Chinese characters (e.g. the last stroke of 大[da4]) syn
乇 zhé "blade of grass" component in Chinese characters
磔 zhé old term for the right-falling stroke in Chinese characters (e.g. the last stroke of 大[da4]), now called 捺[na4] / sound made by birds (onom.) / (literary) to dismember (form of punishment) / to spread syn
The four tones The four tones of Mandarin Pitch over time: tone 1 high and level (red), tone 2 rising (orange), tone 3 falling then rising (green), tone 4 falling (blue). tone 1 tone 2 tone 3 tone 4 Time Pitch

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