dazibao
Very LowSpecialist / Historical
Definition
Meaning
A large-character poster used as a medium of protest, dissent, or public communication in China, especially during the Cultural Revolution.
Any large, handwritten public poster or wall newspaper, often of a political or critical nature, specifically originating from a Chinese cultural context.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
This is a loanword from Chinese (大字报, dàzìbào, 'big-character poster'). Its usage in English is almost exclusively in historical, political, or sinological contexts referring to the specific phenomenon in 20th-century China.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The word is equally rare and specialised in both varieties.
Connotations
Conveys the specific historical phenomenon of Chinese political wall posters. It often carries connotations of ideological struggle, public shaming, political campaigns, and the Cultural Revolution era.
Frequency
Extremely low frequency in both. It appears primarily in academic texts, historical analyses, and journalism about Chinese politics.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Person/Group] PUT UP a dazibao [criticising X][A dazibao] APPEARED on the wallThe dazibao ACCUSED [X] of [Y]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “a war of dazibao”
- “the dazibao campaign”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Not used.
Academic
Used in historical, political science, or China studies texts to describe a specific medium of communication and political struggle.
Everyday
Virtually never used.
Technical
Specific to sinology and modern Chinese history.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The word dazibao is Chinese for a big poster.
- We learned about dazibao in our history class about China.
- During the Cultural Revolution, students often used dazibao to criticise their teachers publicly.
- The historian analysed the rhetorical strategies employed in the dazibao that proliferated during the Hundred Flowers Campaign, noting their role in shaping public political discourse.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: DA-ZI-BAO sounds like 'dazzle-bow'. Imagine a large, DAZZLING poster that makes authorities BOW to public pressure.
Conceptual Metaphor
PUBLIC DISCOURSE IS A BATTLEFIELD (dazibao as a weapon), CRITICISM IS A PUBLIC DISPLAY.
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Do not confuse with 'доска объявлений' (noticeboard). A dazibao is specifically a large, handwritten, often polemical political poster, not a general bulletin board.
Common Mistakes
- Using it to refer to any poster or notice. / Mispronouncing it with a hard 'z' (like 'dazzle') instead of a softer 'dz' sound. / Spelling it as 'daziba', 'dazibow', or 'dazibao'. / Using it as a verb (e.g., 'to dazibao someone' is non-standard).
Practice
Quiz
What is a 'dazibao' most closely associated with?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not standard. The term is specifically tied to the Chinese historical context. Using it for a modern protest poster elsewhere would be a metaphorical or journalistic stretch.
It functions solely as a noun in English.
Pronounced roughly as 'dah-zee-bow' (UK: /ˌdɑːzɪˈbaʊ/; US: /ˌdɑːziˈbaʊ/), with the main stress on the final syllable '-bao'.
No, it is a very low-frequency, specialised loanword. You will encounter it almost exclusively in texts about 20th-century Chinese history and politics.