qiǎn
verb #18,133

Meanings

  1. 1 to censure; to reprimand

Examples

Guójì shèhuì qiángliè qiǎnzé zhè yīxíng wéi.
The international community strongly condemned this act.
Tā shòudào le liángxīn de qiǎnzé.
He was rebuked by his own conscience.

Tips

usage
Rarely used alone in modern Chinese. Almost always appears as 谴责 (qiǎnzé) = to condemn/denounce, or 天谴 (tiānqiǎn) = divine retribution.

Components

radical
yán
speech (radical form of 言)
Left speech radical (side-form of ) — anchors as a verbal act. Specifically a strong verbal one: to reprimand, denounce, condemn. The radical groups with the harsh-speech family: (reproach), (scold), (accuse falsely), (slander). Tells the reader instantly that is speech directed against someone.
phonetic
qiǎn
dispatch; send (here phonetic + semantic)
Right supplies the sound — qiǎn unchanged. means 'to send off, dispatch'; the meaning resonates faintly with since reprimanding is sending harsh words at someone. The common compound 谴责 (qiǎnzé, to condemn) doubles the censure imagery, and 天谴 ('heaven's reprimand') is the classical term for natural disasters interpreted as divine reproach.

Stroke Order

qiǎn