弊 (bì): detriment, fraud, harm
弊 (bì) is a Chinese character meaning “detriment.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 敝 (structural) and 廾 (structural). It ranks #2278 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 弊 two hands 廾 breaking something 敝; 敝 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 廾 (hands joined) appears in many related characters such as 开 (kāi, to open (transitive or intransitive)), 弄 (nòng, to do), 弃 (qì, to abandon).
Definitions
- detriment
- fraud
- harm
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTwo hands 廾 breaking something 敝; 敝 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿱敝廾 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 弊 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 作弊 | zuò bì | to practice fraud |
| 利弊 | lì bì | pros and cons |
| 弊端 | bì duān | systemic problem (sometimes refers specifically to corrupt practices) |
| 舞弊 | wǔ bì | to engage in fraud |
| 弊病 | bì bìng | malady |
| 兴利除弊 | xīng lì chú bì | to promote what is useful and get rid of what is harmful (idiom) |
| 徇私舞弊 | xùn sī wǔ bì | (idiom) to abuse one's position for personal gain |
| 有百利而无一弊 | yǒu bǎi lì ér wú yī bì | to have many advantages and no disadvantages |
| 有利有弊 | yǒu lì yǒu bì | to have both advantages and disadvantages |
| 切中时弊 | qiè zhòng shí bì | to hit home on the evils of the day (idiom) |
| 权衡利弊 | quán héng lì bì | to weigh the pros and cons (idiom) |
| 百弊丛生 | bǎi bì cóng shēng | All the ill effects appear. (idiom) |
| 时弊 | shí bì | ills of the day |
| 营私舞弊 | yíng sī wǔ bì | see 徇私舞弊[xun4 si1 wu3 bi4] |
| 痛砭时弊 | tòng biān shí bì | to strongly criticize the evils of the day |
弊 appears in 24 compound words: 13 as the first character, 83 as the last, and 4 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 弊 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to hit home on the evils of the day (idiom); fig. to hit a current political target; to hit the nub of the matter
to hit home on the evils of the day (idiom); fig. to hit a current political target; to hit the nub of the matter
Example Sentences
写好弊字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo bì zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "弊" correctly, you must master the proper stroke order.
前馆长徐国士死亡 士林科教馆工程弊案更二审公诉不受理
qián guǎn cháng xú guó shì sǐ wáng shì lín kē jiào guǎn gōng chéng bì àn gēng èr shěn gōng sù bù shòu lǐ
两厅院爆围标采购弊案 演出部经理35万交保、厂商与承办人漏...
liǎng tīng yuàn bào wéi biāo cǎi gòu bì àn yǎn chū bù jīng lǐ 3 5 wàn jiāo bǎo , hǎn shāng yǔ chéng bàn rén lòu . . .
Scandal Over Bid-Rigging in National Theater and Concert Hall Procurement: Performance Department Manager Released on $350,000 Bail; Vendors and Organizers Omitted...
《商品》评估利弊因素 油价转升逾1%
shāng pǐn píng gū lì bì yīn sù yóu jià zhuǎn shēng yú 1
Commodity assesses the pros and cons of oil prices rise by more than 1%
AI助长作弊?高中反其道而行训练学生思考
A I zhù cháng zuò bì ? gāo zhōng fǎn qí dào ér háng xùn liàn xué shēng sī kǎo
AI fuels cheating? High school does the opposite and trains students to think
米兰冬奥|选手触壶作弊,场上飚起脏话,拒绝科技辅助..
mǐ lán dōng ào xuǎn shǒu chù hú zuò bì , chǎng shàng 飚 qǐ zāng huà , jù jué kē jì fǔ zhù . .
Milan Winter Olympics|Players cheated with a pot, swearing on the field, and refused to assist with technology:
玩牌作弊是错误的。
Wánpái zuòbì shì cuòwù de.
It is wrong to cheat at cards.
他在生物学考试时作弊。
Tā zài shēngwùxué kǎoshì shí zuòbì.
He cheated on the biology exam.
他在考试中作弊时被抓到了。
Tā zài kǎoshì zhōng zuòbì shí bèi zhuā dào le.
He was caught cheating in the exam.
在我看来，汽车是弊大于利。
Zàiwǒkànlái, qìchē shì bì dàyú lì.
From my point of view, cars do more harm than good.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 弊 (bì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 弊 have?
What is the radical of 弊?
What are the components of 弊?
What are common words containing 弊?
What characters sound the same as 弊 (bì)?
Is 弊 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 弊 with real-time feedback
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