HSK 6 · Education

贬义 biǎnyì “negative connotation” in Chinese

Traditional 貶義

What 贬义 means

  1. negative connotation
  2. derogatory sense

How to say 贬义

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale贬biǎn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale义yì4th tone, falling

贬义 in a sentence

  1. “小气”这个词带有贬义。

    “Xiǎoqì” zhè ge cí dàiyǒu biǎnyì.

    The word 小气 has a negative connotation.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这个词有时候是贬义的，要小心使用。

    Zhè ge cí yǒushíhou shì biǎnyì de, yào xiǎoxīn shǐyòng.

    This word is sometimes derogatory, so use it with care.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 贬义 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 贬 (biǎn) with each of its parts in a different colour
贬biǎnto diminish
  • 贝sea shell · bèi
  • 乏poor · fá
The character 义 (yì) with each of its parts in a different colour
义yìjustice
  • 丶dot · zhǔ
  • 乂to govern · yìSound part

⺷ hints at the meaning (sheep); 乂 (yì) hints at the sound. Compare it with yì.

How to write 贬义

贬 8 strokes · 义 3 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

贬义 (biǎnyì) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 贬义 (biǎnyì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 贬义

Words with 贬

贬低biǎndī · to belittle

Words with 义

义务yìwù · duty意义yìyì · sense正义zhèngyì · justice定义dìngyì · definition含义hányì · meaning主义zhǔyì · -ism见义勇为jiànyìyǒngwéi · to act bravely for a just cause

More words: Education & Learning

哲学zhéxué · philosophy字母zìmǔ · letter (of the alphabet)作文zuòwén · to write an essay背诵bèisòng · to recite (from memory)传授chuánshòu · to teach答辩dábiàn · to defend (a thesis)方言fāngyán · dialect繁体字fántǐzì · traditional Chinese character

FAQs

贬义 (biǎnyì) means “negative connotation” or “derogatory sense”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it biǎnyì: biǎn with a 3rd tone, then yì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 贬义 is written 貶義. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type bianyi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 贬义 from the suggestions. Typing bianyi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
贬义 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.