粃 (bǐ) - Empty grain & chaff

粃Tone 3

bǐ ｜ 10 strokes ｜ radical:

傲不

粃 · bǐ

Empty grain;

chaff;

worthless;

unproductive;

defective.

Empty grainchaffworthless

Usage highlights

chaff and husksempty grainsdefective governmentworthless itemsunproductive workbad harvest

Synonyms

  • 糠— chaff, husks
  • 秕— empty grain, chaff (variant form)
  • 糟— dregs, waste

Antonyms

  • 精— refined, essence
  • 实— solid, substantial
  • 良— good, fine

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The harvest contained much chaff (粃糠).
  • He discarded the empty grains (粃谷).
  • The plan was ultimately unproductive (粃政).
  • We need to remove the defective items (粃品).

Collocations

  • chaff and husks(粃糠)
  • empty grains(粃谷)
  • defective government(粃政)
  • worthless items(粃物)
  • unproductive work(粃事)
  • bad harvest(粃年)

Idioms

  • To discard the chaff and keep the essence(去粃取精)
  • Mixed with chaff and dust(尘粃糠秕)
  • Chaff and husks - worthless things(粃糠糟粕)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • In traditional agricultural society, separating grain from chaff was crucial for survival.
  • The character metaphorically extends to anything worthless or unproductive in various contexts.
  • Used in classical texts to describe ineffective governance or useless outcomes.

FAQ