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

HSK 3

她总是偏袒小儿子。

Tā zǒngshì piāntǎn xiǎo érzi.

She always sides with her youngest son.

HSK 4

老师不应该偏袒任何学生。

Lǎoshī bù yīnggāi piāntǎn rènhé xuésheng.

Teachers shouldn't show favoritism to any student.

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