侮辱

• Pinyin: wǔ rǔ
• Hanzi breakdown: 侮 = 亻+ 每 (person + every/repeatedly — to bully, treat contemptuously); 辱 = 辰 + 寸 (ripening grain + inch — to disgrace, bring shame below one's proper dignity)

Meaning

To insult or humiliate; to subject someone to contemptuous or degrading treatment that wounds their dignity or honour.

Can be verbal or behavioural, public or private. Carries strong negative connotations. Has a legal dimension in Chinese law (侮辱罪 = criminal insult). Can be used in both concrete and abstract senses: 侮辱人格 (insult one's dignity), 侮辱国旗 (desecrate the national flag).

Examples

1. 他在公开场合侮辱同事的行为严重违反了公司的职场行为准则。 His behavior of insulting a colleague in public seriously violated the company’s workplace conduct guidelines.
2. 这篇充满偏见的报道被许多读者视为对受访群体的公然侮辱。 Many readers saw this biased report as an outright insult to the group being interviewed.
3. 法律明确规定，以言语或行为侮辱他人名誉者将承担相应的法律责任。 The law clearly stipulates that anyone who insults another person’s reputation through words or actions will bear the corresponding legal liability.

Usage Guide

Context: law, workplace, social criticism, ethics, interpersonal relations

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 庭审后，律师称对方多次用轻蔑和歧视性措辞侮辱当事人，已严重损害其人格尊严。(After the hearing, the lawyer said the other side had repeatedly used contemptuous and discriminatory language to insult the client, seriously damaging the client's personal dignity.)
• 征服者强迫被征服民族放弃语言和文化，以此侮辱其尊严，这种精神摧残比掠夺更伤人。(Conquerors forced conquered peoples to abandon their language and culture to insult their dignity, and this spiritual abuse was more harmful than plunder.)

Don't Say

• 侮辱 for mere criticism, sarcasm, or blunt feedback — use 批评 or 讽刺; 侮辱 specifically denotes conduct intended or likely to degrade another's dignity and honour, going beyond mere criticism into deliberate humiliation

Origin & History

侮 (to treat with contempt, to bully) + 辱 (to humiliate, to disgrace) — both components relate to degradation and dishonour

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal