Definition
毁 (huǐ) means 'to defame, to slander' — it's the everyday word for ruining someone's reputation through speech. It is less formal than 诽谤 (fěi bàng, used in legal/written contexts) and focuses on damaging reputation, while 污蔑 (wū miè) emphasizes spreading false accusations. Note that 毁 also commonly means 'to destroy' (as in 毁灭, 毁坏), but in this sense it is about defamation.
verb
to defameto slander
Easily confused
- 段duànlook-alike(classifier) used for sections of time, text, road, or stages of a process; segment, paragraph, stretch
- 会huìsound-alikecan, be able to (know how to); be likely to, will
- 股gǔlook-alike(classifier) for long winding things (rope, river, strand)
- 会huìsound-alikecan; to know how to (a learned skill)
- 投tóulook-aliketo throw, to cast (a vote, a glance)
- 回huísound-alike(verb) to return, to go back
- 设shèlook-aliketo set up, to establish
- 灰huīsound-alike(noun) ash; dust; lime (powdery substance)
- 挥huīsound-aliketo wave, to brandish
- 汇huìsound-aliketo remit (money)
Examples
- ，。Nǐ bù yīnggāi zhèyàng dǐ huǐ biérén, zhè shì bú duì de.You shouldn't defame others like this; it's wrong.
- 。Zhè zhǒng yáoyán huì dǐ huǐ rén de míngshēng.This kind of rumor will defame people's reputation.
- ，。Tā zài wǎngshàng dǐ huǐ tóngshì, jiéguǒ bèi gōngsī kāichú le.He defamed colleagues online and ended up getting fired by the company.
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