废品
fèi pǐn · HSK 7
scrap
♻️🗑️ 废 waste + 品 goods = waste goods, rejected products
废 means废弃 (discarded/废旧) and 品 means products or goods. Together they literally form discarded goods — the stuff that fails quality control and gets tossed into the scrap pile.
废 — radical 广 (shelter) + phonetic 发 (fā)
Originally written 廢, this character depicts a building (广, a shelter or house) that has fallen into disuse, with 發 serving as the phonetic component. The core meaning is 'to abandon' or 'discard,' extending to 'ruined,' 'useless,' or 'waste.' The simplified form 废 replaces 發 with 发.
品 — three 口 (mouth) stacked
品 is an ideogram showing three 口 (mouths or openings) piled together. The repetition of 口 suggests many people, items, or voices, which gave rise to meanings like 'kinds,' 'goods,' 'rank,' and 'to taste/judge.' The triple stacking is a common Chinese device for indicating plurality or variety.