Chinese word

欺负

Pronunciation

Pinyinqī fù

Meaning

  • verbbully

Example

不要欺负年纪小的孩子。bú yào qī fù nián jì xiǎo de hái zi

Don't bully younger children.

Illustration for 欺负 (bully)

More examples

他在街上看到有人欺负弱小者，就报警了。tā zài jiē shàng kàn dào yǒu rén qī fù ruò xiǎo zhě jiù bào jǐng le

He called the police when he saw someone bullying the weak on the street.

Core concept

Pressure from a stronger person lands on someone with less power, ranging from repeated harm to lighter teasing.

Common phrases

  • 被人欺负bèi rén qī fù

    be bullied by others

  • 欺负弱小者qī fù ruò xiǎo zhě

    bully the weak

Similar words

欺凌qī líng: Repeatedly targeting weaker people with harassment or violence within a group or school.
侮辱wú rǔ: Using public words or actions to make another person lose dignity.

Definition in Chinese

用强势的言语或行为使他人受委屈或伤害，常指强者对弱者反复的欺凌，但在语境轻时也可指开玩笑式的取笑。yòng qiáng shì de yán yǔ huò xíng wéi shǐ tā rén shòu wěi qū huò shāng hài cháng zhǐ qiáng zhě duì ruò zhě fǎn fù de qī líng dàn zài yǔ jìng qīng shí yě kě zhǐ kāi wán xiào shì de qǔ xiào

Word origin

The compound 欺 (qī, "deceive or mistreat") + 负 (fù, "carry or bear") presents mistreatment as a burden placed on another person.

Usage tips

  • In English, teasing may sound friendly while bullying sounds serious, but 欺负 (qīfù, "bully or tease") spans that boundary, so the situation and tone matter.

Other meanings

  • teaseverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word