verb / noun HSK 5
Traditional 報復
to retaliate · to take revenge · to get even · revenge · retaliation
Meaning
报复 means to retaliate or take revenge against someone who has harmed or wronged you. It carries the sense of responding to a perceived injustice or injury by inflicting harm in return. As a noun, it refers to the act of revenge itself.
Usage
报复 is commonly used in both everyday and formal contexts to describe retaliatory actions. It often appears in phrases like 报复性 (retaliatory, vengeful) and can describe both personal vendettas and larger-scale political or military retaliation. Native speakers frequently use it when discussing conflicts, grudges, or getting back at someone.
Examples
- 01他因为被解雇而报复公司。.He retaliated against the company because he was fired.
- 02我们不应该用暴力来报复别人。.We shouldn't use violence to take revenge on others.
Characters
Measure words
- 次一次报复
Common collocations
- 报复心理vengeful mentality
- 报复性retaliatory, vengeful
- 进行报复to carry out retaliation
- 报复行为retaliatory behavior
Antonyms
Origin
The word combines 报 (to repay, respond) with 复 (to return, repeat), literally meaning 'to repay in return' or 'to respond back,' capturing the cyclical nature of revenge.