败 (bài): to defeat, to damage, to lose (to an opponent)
败 (bài) is a Chinese character meaning “to defeat.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 贝 (phonetic) and 攵 (semantic). It ranks #862 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 败 rap. Its radical form 贝 (shell) appears in many related characters such as 贵 (guì, expensive), 负 (fù, to bear), 责 (zé, responsibility).
Definitions
- to defeat
- to damage
- to lose (to an opponent)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 败
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 失败verb/adjective | shī bài | to be defeated | 4 |
| 打败verb | dǎ bài | to defeat | 4 |
| 击败verb | jī bài | to defeat | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 失败者noun | shī bài zhě | loser |
| 腐败verb | fǔ bài | corruption |
| 败类noun | bài lèi | scum of a community |
| 挫败verb | cuò bài | to thwart |
| 成败noun | chéng bài | success or failure |
| 一败涂地phrase | yī bài tú dì | lit. defeated, the ground blanketed with bodies (idiom) |
| 败坏verb | bài huài | to ruin |
| 惨败verb | cǎn bài | to suffer a crushing defeat |
| 战败verb | zhàn bài | to lose a war |
| 败露verb | bài lù | (of a plot etc) to fall through and stand exposed |
| 败诉verb | bài sù | to lose a lawsuit |
| 败血症noun | bài xuè zhèng | septicaemia |
| 气急败坏phrase | qì jí bài huài | flustered and exasperated |
| 身败名裂phrase | shēn bài míng liè | to lose one's standing |
| 衰败verb | shuāi bài | to decline |
败 appears in 100 compound words: 29 as the first character, 34 as the last, and 37 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 败 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (29)
impure woman, such as one who leads a promiscuous life, or one who has been abused and abandoned; fallen woman
lit. success and failure, the gains and losses (idiom); fig. to weigh up various factors
lit. success and failure, the gains and losses (idiom); fig. to weigh up various factors
Showing 12 of 29 idioms containing 败.
Example Sentences
虽然这次比赛失败了，但他并没有气馁，反而更加努力训练。
Suīrán zhè cì bǐsài shībài le, dàn tā bìng méiyǒu qìněi, fǎn'ér gèngjiā nǔlì xùnliàn.
Although he failed in this competition, he was not discouraged and instead trained even harder.
【东方日报世界视线】美国若击败伊朗 战火或延至台海
dōng fāng rì bào shì jiè shì xiàn měi guó ruò jī bài yī lǎng zhàn huǒ huò yán zhì tái hǎi
【Oriental Daily World View】If the U.S. Defeats Iran, Conflict May Spread to the Taiwan Strait
世界视线:美国若击败伊朗 战火或延至台海
shì jiè shì xiàn měi guó ruò jī bài yī lǎng zhàn huǒ huò yán zhì tái hǎi
World View: If the U.S. Defeats Iran, Conflict May Spread to the Taiwan Strait
笔下风云:一败涂地 等被弹劾
bǐ xià fēng yún yī bài tú dì děng bèi dàn 劾
Pen and Paper: Utterly Defeated, Awaiting Impeachment
美国男子冰球击败加拿大 1980年以来首夺冬奥金牌
měi guó nán zǐ bīng qiú jī bài jiā ná dà nián yǐ lái shǒu duó dōng ào jīn pái
U.S. Men's Hockey Team Defeats Canada, Wins First Winter Olympics Gold Since 1980
...蔡正元指法院敲响政权丧钟:期中选举一定大败
. . . 蔡 zhèng yuán zhǐ fǎ yuàn qiāo xiǎng zhèng quán sāng zhōng qī zhōng xuǎn jǔ yī dìng dà bài
Tsai Cheng-yuan claims court ruling sounds death knell for regime: Midterm elections will be a crushing defeat
他们把失败归咎于乔治。
Tāmen bǎ shībài guījiù yú Qiáozhì.
They blamed the failure on George.
侵略者注定要被打败。
Qīnlüèzhě zhùdìng yào bèi dǎbài.
The aggressors are bound to be defeated.
让我们赶走腐败的政客！
Ràng wǒmen gǎnzǒu fǔbài de zhèngkè!
Let's chase out corrupt politicians!
因为你不够努力，所以才会失败。
Yīnwèi nǐ bù gòu nǔlì, suǒyǐ cái huì shībài.
The reason why you failed is you didn't try hard enough.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 攵 (rap) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 败 (bài) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 败 and 赢?
How many strokes does 败 have?
What is the radical of 败?
What are the components of 败?
What are common words containing 败?
What characters sound the same as 败 (bài)?
Is 败 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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