偏袒

piāntǎn

verb #19,247

Meanings

1 to side with
2 to show favoritism
3 to discriminate in favor of

Characters

partial; biased; one-sided

to bare the upper body

Examples

老师不应该偏袒任何学生。

Lǎoshī bù yīnggāi piāntǎn rènhé xuéshēng.

Teachers shouldn't show favoritism to any student.

她总是偏袒小儿子。

Tā zǒngshì piāntǎn xiǎo érzi.

She always sides with her youngest son.

Tips

history

偏袒 originally meant 'to bare one shoulder' (偏 = one-sided + 袒 = to bare the upper body). In ancient China, baring the left shoulder was a gesture showing allegiance. The meaning shifted to 'taking sides'.

Stroke Order

偏 piān

袒 tǎn