叛逆
pàn nì · HSK 7
to rebel
🏴 叛逆 = 叛 betray + 逆 go-against; a teen who turns on authority
叛 means to betray or defect; 逆 means to go against or move contrary to. Stacked together they name the rebel who defies the established order. Often used for a 叛逆期, the rebellious phase of adolescence.
逆 — 辶 walk + 屰 (inverted 大 person)
逆 combines the walking radical 辶 with 屰, a pictograph of an upside-down person. The original sense was 'to meet, go against the flow,' as if walking toward someone coming the opposite way. From this it extended to mean 'reverse, contrary, disobey.'