adjective #62,198

Meanings

  1. 1 violent / fierce
  2. 2 perverse / contrary
  3. 3 (verb, classical) to violate / go against

Examples

Tā xìngqíng bàolì, shéi yě bù gǎn zhāorě.
He has a violent temper — no one dares cross him.
Lìqì tài zhòng de rén hěn nán yǔ rén xiāngchǔ.
People with too much aggression find it hard to get along with others.

Tips

usage
Rarely stands alone in modern Chinese — appears mostly in compounds: 暴戾 (bàolì, brutal), 乖戾 (guāilì, eccentric/perverse), (lìqì, hostile aura/aggression). The internet-era term has become common shorthand for the toxic aggression on social media.
history
The character shows a dog () under a door () — picturing the dog squeezing through, body bent. From this 'bending/twisting' image came the senses of going against, violating, and being perverse.

Stroke Order