{"path":"/entry/71177","title":"狼狈 / 狼狽 (láng bèi) — Chinese Dictionary | Flashbao","description":"狼狈 / 狼狽 (láng bèi): in a difficult situation. Explore meanings, example sentences and vocabulary decks.","catalog":null,"deck":null,"entry":{"reading":{"id":71177,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["狼狈"],"TRADITIONAL":["狼狽"]}},"phonetic":"láng bèi","phoneticKey":"lang2 bei4","meanings":{"primary":[{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"in a difficult situation","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"to cut a sorry figure","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]},{"qualifier":null,"synonyms":[{"segments":[{"dim":false,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"scoundrel! ","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]},{"dim":true,"runs":[{"kind":"TEXT","text":"(derogatory)","orthography":null,"phonetic":null,"phoneticKey":null,"readingId":null}]}]}]}],"additional":[],"notes":[],"variantMeanings":[]},"classifiers":[],"pos":["VERB","NOUN","NOUN_ADJECTIVE","ADVERBIAL"],"frequency":17831,"grammar":[],"spokenPhonetic":null},"otherReadings":[],"examples":[],"carriedReadings":[],"constructions":[{"readingId":71179,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["狼狈为奸"],"TRADITIONAL":["狼狽為奸"]}},"phonetic":"láng bèi wéi jiān","gloss":{"simplified":"villains collude together (idiom)","traditional":null}}],"status":null,"due":null,"reps":null,"lapses":null,"lastReview":null,"senses":[{"label":null,"relations":[{"kind":"SYNONYM","readingId":34594,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["尴尬"],"TRADITIONAL":["尷尬"]}},"phonetic":"gān gà","gloss":{"simplified":"awkward","traditional":null}},{"kind":"SYNONYM","readingId":114290,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["难堪"],"TRADITIONAL":["難堪"]}},"phonetic":"nán kān","gloss":{"simplified":"hard to take","traditional":null}},{"kind":"SYNONYM","readingId":68308,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["为难"],"TRADITIONAL":["為難"]}},"phonetic":"wéi nán","gloss":{"simplified":"to feel embarrassed or awkward","traditional":null}},{"kind":"SYNONYM","readingId":23819,"orthography":{"forms":{"SIMPLIFIED":["困窘"],"TRADITIONAL":["困窘"]}},"phonetic":"kùn jiǒng","gloss":{"simplified":"embarrassment","traditional":null}}],"primary":true}],"origins":[{"literal":null,"content":[{"type":"paragraph","text":{"simplified":"An Old Chinese ideophone of the phonetic shape /*raːd(s) paːd(s) ~ *raːŋ paːd(s)/ (ZS), initially used to describe a limping or stumbling gait.","traditional":null}},{"type":"paragraph","text":{"simplified":"Folk etymology (as used by Tang-Dynasty Duan Chengshi) states that 狈 (bèi) was a wolf-like animal in Chinese mythology, which had very short forelegs and long hind legs, and needed to mount a wolf in order to walk, so the two animals would always hunt together. This eventually led to the meaning of “to conspire”.","traditional":"Folk etymology (as used by Tang-Dynasty Duan Chengshi) states that 狽 (bèi) was a wolf-like animal in Chinese mythology, which had very short forelegs and long hind legs, and needed to mount a wolf in order to walk, so the two animals would always hunt together. This eventually led to the meaning of “to conspire”."}}],"examples":[],"senseScoped":false}],"decks":[{"id":7,"sourceName":"HSK 3.0","name":"Levels 7-9"},{"id":13,"sourceName":"HSK 2.0","name":"Level 6"}],"vocabularyScale":null,"vocabularyLevel":null}}