斥 (chì): to scold

Meanings

1 to scold
2 to rebuke
3 to denounce
4 to expel
5 to reconnoiter

Characters

斥

chì

scold, expel, reconnoiter

Examples

老师严厉地斥了他。

Lǎoshī yánlì de chì le tā.

The teacher rebuked him sternly.

他斥之为荒谬。

Tā chì zhī wéi huāngmiù.

He denounced it as absurd.

派人四处斥候。

Pài rén sìchù chì hòu.

Send people out to reconnoiter in all directions.

Tips

register

Single-character 斥 is literary/written; in everyday speech you'll hear the compounds: 训斥 (xùnchì) 'to reprimand,' 斥责 (chìzé) 'to rebuke,' 排斥 (páichì) 'to reject/exclude,' 斥候 (chìhòu) 'scout (military).'

history

An old graph: in oracle-bone script 斥 depicts pushing/casting away. The 'reconnoiter' and 'expand territory' senses come from military Classical Chinese — visible in the 史记 (Shǐjì) when describing border patrols and territorial expansion of the Han.

Components

radical

斤 jīn

axe; catty

Axe radical wrapping the top-left, the indexing radical. 斥 originally meant to reject or drive away — the axe imagery of cutting something off is the semantic root. The radical groups 斥 with 斩 to chop, 断 to sever, 新 fresh-cut wood — all sharp-tool chars.

ideograph

丶 zhǔ

dot (marker stroke)

Single dot inside the axe-wrap, acting as an abstract marker rather than depicting a real object. The dot is a positional indicator distinguishing 斥 from 斤 alone — think of it as the chip flying off when the axe drives something away.