废物
fèiwù · HSK 7
crap
🗑️ fei = abolish + wu = thing — an abolished thing is waste
废 means abolish or discard, 物 means thing or object. Together they literally describe a discarded thing — trash, something useless. The fèi sound echoes 'fail,' and a failed object is just waste.
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.