秕 (bǐ) - blighted or empty grain & chaff

秕Tone 3

bǐ ｜ 9 strokes ｜ radical: 禾

傲不

秕 · bǐ

blighted or empty grain;

chaff;

bad;

worthless;

unsound (of arguments or plans).

blighted or empty grainchaffbad

Usage highlights

blighted grainchaff and husksunsound argumentbad government policysift the chaffremove the bad

Synonyms

  • 瘪— shrivelled; shrunken (of grains)
  • 糠— chaff; husk

Antonyms

  • 实— solid; full (of grains)
  • 饱— plump; full (of grains)

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The harvest was poor with much blighted grain (秕谷).
  • His argument was full of unsound logic (秕言谬说).
  • They sifted the chaff from the wheat (去秕取精).

Collocations

  • blighted grain(秕谷)
  • chaff and husks(秕糠)
  • unsound argument(秕言)
  • bad government policy(秕政)
  • sift the chaff(簸秕)
  • remove the bad(去秕)

Idioms

  • To sift the chaff and keep the essence(簸秕扬糠)
  • Blighted grain and hollow arguments(秕言谬说)
  • Chaff and dust — worthless things(秕糠尘垢)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originates from agricultural society, referring to grain that fails to fill, a symbol of poor harvest and worthlessness.
  • Metaphorically extended to describe flawed policies, unsound theories, or worthless people in classical texts.

FAQ