Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 霸凌者 | bàlíngzhě |
| 土霸 | tǔbà |
| 暴徒 | bàotú |
霸凌者 is a noun used to describe a person who is intentionally cruel to others. This noun is derived from the term 霸凌, which means bullying and is commonly used in modern contexts, such as describing school bullying (校园霸凌).
What does it mean word for word?
The term 霸凌者 consists of 霸凌 (bully/harass) and the suffix 者, which means a person or one who does something.
Which one should you use?
While 霸凌者 refers to a person who bullies, often within a social or school context, 暴徒 refers to a violent person or a rioter involved in physical unrest. Additionally, 暴徒 can be translated as 'thug'.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb 欺負 is more common in daily conversation to describe someone picking on or treating someone unfairly, whereas 霸凌 sounds more formal or systemic.
How do you pronounce it?
bàlíngzhě
Did you know?
- The term 霸凌 (bàlíng) is actually a phonetic loanword from the English word 'bullying'. It was created to describe modern social phenomena that did not have a traditional Chinese equivalent.
- The character 霸 (bà) in 霸凌 originally referred to a powerful ruler or a hegemon who used force to dominate others, such as in the phrase 霸王 (bàwáng).
- When using the verb 欺負 (qīfu), the tone can range from someone being a genuine bully to a parent jokingly saying a child is 'picking on' them.
Examples in context
- 他是个欺凌者，总是欺负弱小的同学。He is a bully who always picks on weaker classmates.
- 这个霸凌者不断威胁其他学生。This bully constantly threatens other students.
- 校园中不容忍恶霸存在。There should be zero tolerance for bullies in schools.
- 这个恶霸老是欺负小孩子。This bully always picks on little kids.
- 他是一个校园霸凌者。Tā shì yīgè xiàoyuán bàlíngzhě.He is a school bully.
- 我们必须阻止那个霸凌者。Wǒmen bìxū zhǐzhǐ nàgè bàlíngzhě.We must stop that bully.
- 这个霸凌者伤害了很多人。Zhège bàlíngzhě shāngháile hěnduō rén.This bully has hurt many people.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a news story about school violence.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen俊杰，你看这个新闻了吗？Jùnjié, nǐ kàn zhège xīnwén le ma?Junjie, did you see this news story?
- 俊杰 Junjie看了，那个霸凌者太可恶了。Kàn le, nàge bàlíngzhě tài kěwù le.I did, that bully is absolutely awful.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我也这么觉得，他应该受到惩罚。Wǒ yě zhème juéde, tā yīnggāi shòudào chéngfá.I think so too, he should be punished.
- 俊杰 Junjie没错，希望受害者能平安。Méicuò, xīwàng shòuhàizhě néng píng'ān.Exactly, I hope the victim is doing okay.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “bully” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
