打败

• Pinyin: dǎ bài
• Hanzi breakdown: 打 = 扌(hand) + 丁 (phonetic); 败 = 贝 (shell/money) + 攵 (strike)

Meaning

To defeat; to beat. To win against someone in competition, battle, or struggle.

Used for competitions, sports, games, wars, and figurative battles. The subject is the winner and the object is the loser. Can also be used in passive form 被打败 (to be defeated). Common in both formal and informal contexts.

Examples

1. 我们队在决赛中打败了对手，赢得了冠军。 Our team defeated the opponent in the final and won the championship.
2. 他在棋艺比赛中打败了所有的选手。 He defeated all the contestants in the chess competition.
3. 困难并没有打败她，反而让她变得更坚强了。 Difficulties didn't defeat her; on the contrary, they made her stronger.

Usage Guide

Context: sports, competition, everyday

Tone: assertive

Do Say

• 他打败了去年的冠军。(He defeated last year's champion.)
• 不要害怕失败，失败打败不了你。(Don't be afraid of failure — failure cannot defeat you.)

Don't Say

• 把打败用于平和的超越 (Don't use 打败 when someone merely surpasses another without confrontation — use 超过 for passing someone in ranking)

Origin & History

打 (hit/strike) + 败 (defeat/lose) — to strike down and cause defeat.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal