Chinese word

虐待

Pronunciation

Pinyinnüè dài

Meaning

  • verbmistreat

Example

他被父母虐待了。tā bèi fù mǔ nüè dài le

He was mistreated by his parents.

Illustration for 虐待 (mistreat)

More examples

护士被指控虐待病人。hù shì bèi zhǐ kòng nüè dài bìng rén

The nurse was accused of abusing patients.

Core concept

Cruel treatment wears down another person's or animal's body, mind, or dignity instead of giving proper care.

Common phrases

  • 虐待儿童nüè dài ér tóng

    abuse children

  • 被虐待bèi nüè dài

    be abused

  • 虐待动物nüè dài dòng wù

    abuse animals

Similar words

伤害shāng hài: Hurt someone physically or emotionally.
忽视hū shì: Leave someone without needed care or attention, causing harm.
折磨zhé mó: Make someone endure severe physical or emotional suffering for a long time.
辱骂rǔ mà: Insult someone severely with words that humiliate and hurt them.

Definition in Chinese

以暴力、侮辱或忽视等方式，对他人或动物造成身体或精神上的伤害，或长期剥夺其应有的照护与尊严。yǐ bào lì wú rǔ huò hū shì děng fāng shì duì tā rén huò dòng wù zào chéng shēn tǐ huò jīng shén shàng de shāng hài huò cháng qī bō duó qí yīng yǒu de zhào hù yǔ zūn yán

Word origin

虐待 (nüèdài, "mistreat") is formed from 虐 (nüè, "cruelly oppress") + 待 (dài, "treat"), linking the idea of oppression with the way someone is treated.

Usage tips

  • The word is stronger than a casual complaint about unkind behavior, so conversational Chinese uses it for serious or repeated harm rather than a single small annoyance.

Other meanings

  • mistreatmentnoun
  • bullyverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 虐待者nüè dài zhěabusernoun
  • 虐待罪nüè dài zuìcriminal abusenoun
  • 虐待行为nüè dài xíng wéiabusive behaviornoun

Word lists with this word