鄙

bǐ

啚 + 阝

Definitions

bǐ (adjective) rustic; humble; low-class

bǐ (verb) to despise; to scorn

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 啚 represents the sound and ⻏ represents the meaning. Originally written as 啚.

Semantic: 阝 Phonetic: 啚

About

Originally written as 啚, the character later combined with 阝 (from 邑, 'city') to form 鄙, a phono-semantic compound in which 啚 indicates the sound and 阝 the meaning. It first denoted a border town or remote rural outpost far from central capitals. Because urban dwellers saw such places as lacking refinement, the meaning shifted to describe people, manners, or language considered rustic, uncultured, base, or vulgar.

Etymology Hide

Oracle (~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze Mid Spring and Autumn (~600 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我鄙视说谎的人。

Wǒ bǐshì shuōhuǎng de rén.

I despise people who lie.

他的行为很卑鄙。

Tā de xíngwéi hěn bēibǐ.

His behavior is despicable.

鄙人对此事不甚了解。

Bǐrén duì cǐ shì bù shèn liǎojiě.

I am not very familiar with this matter.

她鄙夷地转过头去。

Tā bǐyí de zhuǎnguò tóu qù.

She turned her head away with disdain.

粗鄙的玩笑往往伤人。

Cūbǐ de wánxiào wǎngwǎng shāng rén.

Vulgar jokes often hurt people.

他的态度显得十分鄙陋。

Tā de tàidù xiǎndé shífēn bǐlòu.

His attitude appears very shallow.

尽管他出身卑微，但从不鄙弃自己的过去。

Jǐnguǎn tā chūshēn bēiwēi, dàn cóng bù bǐqì zìjǐ de guòqù.

Although he came from a humble background, he never despises his own past.

那种鄙俗的风气逐渐被社会摒弃。

Nà zhǒng bǐsú de fēngqì zhújiàn bèi shèhuì bìngqì.

That kind of vulgar custom is gradually rejected by society.

Related Characters

Component: 啚

Component: 阝

鄙