Chinese word

八卦

Pronunciation

Pinyinbā guà

Meaning

  • noungossip

Example

他总喜欢传播别人的八卦。tā zǒng xǐ huān chuán bō bié rén de bā guà

He always likes to spread other people's gossip.

Illustration for 八卦 (gossip)

More examples

她每天都看八卦新闻。tā měi tiān dōu kàn bā guà xīn wén

She watches gossip news every day.

Core concept

A set of signs or details read for hidden meaning, then discussed and passed around, especially private details about people.

Common phrases

  • 看八卦kàn bā guà

    read gossip

  • 聊八卦liáo bā guà

    chat about gossip

  • 八卦新闻bā guà xīn wén

    gossip news

Similar words

闲话xián huà: Casual talk about someone's private affairs, rumors, or faults.
传闻chuán wén: A report passed from person to person without direct proof.
谣言yáo yán: False information that spreads as if it were true.
流言liú yán: A widely spreading rumor or piece of hearsay.

Definition in Chinese

指以好奇或评头论足为动机，对他人私人事务或琐事进行议论和传播的言论或行为。zhǐ yǐ hào qí huò píng tóu lùn zú wèi dòng jī duì tā rén sī rén shì wù huò suǒ shì jìn xíng yì lùn hé chuán bō de yán lùn huò xíng wéi

Word origin

八卦 (bāguà, "eight trigrams") began as the name of a traditional system of symbolic patterns and developed a colloquial use for probing into and circulating details of other people's lives.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, the word is useful for recognizing talk that treats someone else's personal business as interesting news, not only talk that makes a false claim.

Other meanings

  • eight trigramsnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 八卦新闻bā guà xīn wéngossip newsnoun
  • 八卦节目bā guà jié mùgossip shownoun

Word lists with this word