Chinese Character Wiki
敝

bì

worn out

Depicts a hand (攵) beating a cloth with specks of dust (㡀).

Components
㡀 iconic component

㡀  Iconic component

bì

  

ragged clothing

Depicts a cloth (巾) with specks of dust.

攵 iconic component

攵  Iconic component

pū

  

tap

攵 is a component form of 攴.

Evolution

敝 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
敝 Bronze script Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)

Bronze script

Late Western Zhou (~800 BC)
敝 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
敝 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
敝 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

敝  

bì

break, destroy; broken, tattered; my (polite); poor; ruined; shabby; worn out; defeated

Most common words with 敝
Freq.
Word
Meaning

敝

poor

凋敝

impoverished

敝帚自珍

a sentimental attachment

民生凋敝

the people's livelihood is reduced to destitution (idiom); a time of famine and impoverishment

弃之如敝屣

to toss away like a pair of worn-out shoes (idiom)

Component uses

Meaning component in 2 characters (0 verified)

弊 蹩

Sound component in 11 characters (2 verified)

彆 幣 蔽 弊 斃 瞥 撇 憋 鱉 鳖 蹩

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*[b]e[t]-s

bjiejH

bì

destroy; worn out


Statistics

Not found in HSK word list

3259th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

11

Unicode

U+655D

Shuowen

“敝，帗也。一曰敗衣。从攴，从。亦聲。”


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