废

• Pinyin: fèi
• Hanzi breakdown: 废 = 广 + 发 (shelter/structure + to emit/launch — a structure that has collapsed or been abandoned; no longer functional)

Meaning

Discarded; defunct; to abolish. As an adjective: no longer in use, broken, or cast off. As a verb: to abolish or repeal officially.

As an adjective: no longer useful or functional (废旧零件 — disused parts). As a verb: to abolish or repeal (废除法律 — to repeal a law). Also used colloquially to mean 'useless person' (废人) or to describe something as broken/spent. Productive morpheme in compounds.

Examples

1. 厂区内堆积了大量废旧机械设备，部分已严重锈蚀，处置和清运工作因涉及危险废物分类而须委托具有相应资质的专业机构承担。 A large amount of scrapped machinery is piled up in the factory area; some is heavily rusted, and disposal and removal must be handled by qualified specialized organizations because it involves hazardous-waste classification.
2. 新政府执政后宣布废除前任政府在其执政末期仓促颁布的多项争议性行政法规，此举获得了法律学界和工商业界的广泛欢迎。 After taking office, the new government announced it would repeal several controversial administrative regulations that the previous administration rushed out near the end of its term, a move widely welcomed by both legal scholars and the business community.
3. 这项已被废置多年的传统习俗在一批年轻文化爱好者的推动下重新焕发生机，成为当地非物质文化遗产保护工作的重要成果之一。 This long-abandoned traditional custom has been revived through the efforts of a group of young cultural enthusiasts, becoming an important achievement in the protection of local intangible cultural heritage.

Usage Guide

Context: law, industry, environment, colloquial

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 随着数字化推进，许多纸质档案流程被电子系统取代，废旧档案纸张也须按保密规定销毁。(As digitalization advances, many paper archive workflows are being replaced by electronic systems, and discarded archive paper must also be destroyed according to confidentiality rules.)
• 立法机构经过长达三年的审议后，最终以压倒性票数表决通过了废除这部已实施超过半个世纪、与现代法律体系严重脱节的旧法典的动议。(After more than three years of deliberation, the legislature finally passed by an overwhelming vote the motion to abolish this old statute that had been in force for more than half a century and was seriously out of step with the modern legal system.)

Don't Say

• 废 alone to mean 'very tired' in formal writing — the colloquial expression 我好废 (I'm completely drained/useless) is casual spoken Chinese; in formal contexts, use 精疲力竭 or 疲惫不堪 for physical exhaustion

Origin & History

废 = 广 + 发 (building + to shoot/emit — originally depicted a collapsed structure; evolved to mean abandoned, ruined, or abolished)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal