匪 fěi bandits
bandits; robbers; gangsters
How to remember 匪: 匚 container + 非 not = bandits. The café's tip container was said to be not breakable at all, yet one night it is smashed open by bandits.
Component breakdown
匪 = 匚 container + 非 not
- 匚 container
- 非 not
The café's tip container was said to be not breakable at all, yet one night it is smashed open by bandits.
How it is used
- A bandit/outlaw - 土匪 (tǔfěi) bandit, 匪徒 (fěitú) gangster, 匪帮 (fěibāng) a criminal gang.
- Also a literary/negating 'not' in fixed phrases - 匪夷所思 (fěiyísuǒsī) unimaginably bizarre, 受益匪浅 (shòuyì-fěiqiǎn) to benefit not a little (i.e. greatly).
- Two very different jobs: 'bandit' (common) vs. classical 'not/non-' (only in set idioms).