dǎbài: 打败 - Defeat, Beat, Overcome

• Keywords: dǎbài, dabai, 打败, defeat in Chinese, how to say beat in Chinese, Chinese word for overcome, vanquish, dǎbài vs yíng, Chinese verbs, HSK 4 vocabulary.
• Summary: Learn the essential Chinese verb 打败 (dǎbài), which means “to defeat,” “to beat,” or “to overcome.” This comprehensive guide explores its meaning, cultural context, and practical usage in everything from sports and video games to overcoming personal challenges. Understand the crucial difference between 打败 (dǎbài) and 赢 (yíng) (to win) to avoid common mistakes and speak more like a native.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): dǎbài
• Part of Speech: Verb
• HSK Level: HSK 4
• Concise Definition: To defeat, beat, or vanquish an opponent or overcome a challenge.
• In a Nutshell: 打败 (dǎbài) is a direct and active verb that describes the action of a winner triumphing over a loser. Think of it as the core action in any competition: one side “defeats” the other. It can be used for literal fights, sports matches, business rivalries, or even metaphorical battles against personal struggles like fear or illness. The focus is on the action directed at the opponent who is being beaten.

• 打 (dǎ): The primary meaning of this character is “to hit,” “to strike,” or “to fight.” The radical on the left, 扌, is a form of 手 (shǒu), meaning “hand,” clearly indicating an action performed with the hands.
• 败 (bài): This character means “to be defeated,” “to lose,” or “to fail.” It's composed of 贝 (bèi), which originally meant “seashell” and later came to represent money or valuables, and 攴 (pū), a radical meaning “to tap” or “to strike.” The image is of something valuable (贝) being struck or broken (攴), leading to ruin or failure.
• Together, 打败 (dǎbài) literally translates to “strike and defeat.” The combination creates a powerful and intuitive verb: you actively strike (打) your opponent, causing them to be defeated (败).

In Chinese culture, as in many others, competition and the concepts of winning and losing are significant. 打败 (dǎbài) is the vocabulary that describes the decisive action of victory. While Western culture might sometimes romanticize a “noble defeat” or “a good fight,” the term 打败 (dǎbài) is very outcome-focused. It doesn't describe the quality of the struggle; it describes the result of one party overpowering another. This directness is common in competitive language. Metaphorically, using 打败 (dǎbài) to talk about overcoming difficulties (打败困难 - dǎbài kùnnan) taps into the important cultural value of perseverance and resilience (吃苦耐劳 - chīkǔnàiláo, “to eat bitterness and endure hardship”). It frames personal and societal challenges as adversaries that must be actively fought and defeated, rather than simply endured. This is similar to the American “can-do” spirit, but often carries a heavier sense of overcoming significant, shared hardship.

打败 (dǎbài) is a very common word used across various contexts, from informal chats to news headlines.

• Sports and Competitions: This is one of the most frequent uses. It's used to state the outcome of a match.
  • “The Chinese team defeated the Japanese team.”
• Gaming: Extremely common among gamers when talking about defeating an enemy or a boss in a video game.
  • “I finally beat the last boss!”
• Business and Rivalry: Used to describe outperforming a competitor in the marketplace.
  • “Our goal is to defeat our main competitor this year.”
• Personal and Abstract Struggles: It is often used metaphorically to describe overcoming personal challenges, illnesses, or negative emotions.
  • “You must defeat your own laziness.”

The connotation is generally neutral to positive for the subject (the winner) but negative for the object (the loser). It's a direct, strong, and unambiguous word.

• Example 1:
  • 我们队打败了他们队。
  • Pinyin: Wǒmen duì dǎbài le tāmen duì.
  • English: Our team defeated their team.
  • Analysis: A classic and straightforward example from a sports context. The structure is Subject + 打败 + Object.
• Example 2:
  • 我终于打败了游戏里的最终大魔王！
  • Pinyin: Wǒ zhōngyú dǎbài le yóuxì lǐ de zuìzhōng dà mówáng!
  • English: I finally defeated the final boss in the game!
  • Analysis: This shows its extremely common usage in the world of video games. “大魔王” (dà mówáng) literally means “big demon king” and is a common term for “final boss.”
• Example 3:
  • 不要让恐惧打败你。
  • Pinyin: Búyào ràng kǒngjù dǎbài nǐ.
  • English: Don't let fear defeat you.
  • Analysis: A great example of using 打败 for an abstract concept. Here, “fear” (恐惧) is the agent defeating “you.” The structure `让 + Object + 打败` means “to let [Object] defeat…”
• Example 4:
  • 他被对手打败了，心里很难过。
  • Pinyin: Tā bèi duìshǒu dǎbài le, xīnli hěn nánguò.
  • English: He was defeated by his opponent and felt very sad.
  • Analysis: This demonstrates the passive voice with 被 (bèi). The person who lost becomes the subject. The structure is `Loser + 被 + Winner + 打败`.
• Example 5:
  • 只要我们团结，就能打败任何困难。
  • Pinyin: Zhǐyào wǒmen tuánjié, jiù néng dǎbài rènhé kùnnan.
  • English: As long as we are united, we can overcome any difficulty.
  • Analysis: A motivational and metaphorical use. “困难” (kùnnan), or difficulty, is treated as an opponent that can be defeated.
• Example 6:
  • 在那场著名的战役中，我军打败了敌军。
  • Pinyin: Zài nà chǎng zhùmíng de zhànyì zhōng, wǒ jūn dǎbài le dí jūn.
  • English: In that famous battle, our army defeated the enemy army.
  • Analysis: This shows a more formal, historical context related to warfare.
• Example 7:
  • 他很骄傲，认为没人能打败他。
  • Pinyin: Tā hěn jiāo'ào, rènwéi méi rén néng dǎbài tā.
  • English: He is very arrogant and thinks that no one can defeat him.
  • Analysis: Using 打败 in a negative statement with “没人能” (méi rén néng), meaning “no one can.”
• Example 8:
  • 这家小公司用创新的方法打败了市场巨头。
  • Pinyin: Zhè jiā xiǎo gōngsī yòng chuàngxīn de fāngfǎ dǎbài le shìchǎng jùtóu.
  • English: This small company used an innovative method to defeat the market giant.
  • Analysis: A common usage in a business context, highlighting strategy leading to victory.
• Example 9:
  • 是谁打败了去年的冠军？
  • Pinyin: Shì shéi dǎbài le qùnián de guànjūn?
  • English: Who defeated last year's champion?
  • Analysis: A question form using the question word 谁 (shéi), “who.”
• Example 10:
  • 他的自信心被一次次的失败打败了。
  • Pinyin: Tā de zìxìnxīn bèi yí cì cì de shībài dǎbài le.
  • English: His self-confidence was defeated by repeated failures.
  • Analysis: Another passive example where the “defeater” is an abstract noun, “repeated failures” (一次次的失败). This shows the versatility of the term.

The most critical mistake for learners is confusing 打败 (dǎbài) with 赢 (yíng). They are related but not interchangeable.

• 打败 (dǎbài) - to defeat (an opponent)
  • Focus: The action of beating the loser.
  • Sentence Structure: Winner + 打败 + Loser.
  • Example: 我打败了他。(I defeated him.)
• 赢 (yíng) - to win (a game, a prize, a war)
  • Focus: The result of winning the event or thing.
  • Sentence Structure: Winner + 赢 + The Competition/Prize.
  • Example: 我赢了这场比赛。(I won this match.)

Common Mistake Examples:

• Incorrect: 我打败了比赛。(Wǒ dǎbài le bǐsài.)
  • Reason: This means “I defeated the match.” You don't defeat an event; you defeat the participants *in* the event.
  • Correct: 我赢了比赛。(Wǒ yíng le bǐsài.) OR 我打败了对手。(Wǒ dǎbài le duìshǒu.)
• Incorrect (or at least awkward): 我赢了他。(Wǒ yíng le tā.)
  • Reason: While sometimes used colloquially, it's less precise than 打败. It literally means “I won him,” which is strange. The proper and clearer way to say you beat a person is to use 打败.
  • Correct: 我打败了他。(Wǒ dǎbài le tā.)

• 赢 (yíng) - To win. Describes the outcome of a competition from the winner's perspective.
• 输 (shū) - To lose. The direct antonym of 赢 (yíng); the state of being defeated.
• 失败 (shībài) - To fail; failure. A broader term for failure or being defeated. You can say 我失败了 (wǒ shībài le - I failed/was defeated), but you cannot say 我失败了他 (I failed him).
• 胜利 (shènglì) - Victory; to win a victory. A more formal noun or verb, often used for significant wins like battles or major championships.
• 战胜 (zhànshèng) - To triumph over; to defeat. A synonym for `打败` that feels more formal and epic, often used for significant struggles (e.g., 战胜癌症 - zhànshèng áizhèng, to defeat cancer).
• 克服 (kèfú) - To overcome. Used specifically for difficulties, shortcomings, or obstacles (e.g., 克服困难 - kèfú kùnnan), not for beating a person.
• 击败 (jībài) - To defeat; to beat. A very close synonym of `打败`, often found in written language like news reports. It is slightly more formal.
• 对手 (duìshǒu) - Opponent; rival. The person or entity that you try to `打败`.
• 冠军 (guànjūn) - Champion. The person who `打败`s everyone else.