<p>As a Chinese native speaker,we never say 伤悲 in our daily life.伤悲 is always appearing in poems or songs.It also never shows in any kind of articles.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-17T02:26:27.397Z
Quote:- "...we never say 伤悲 in our daily life..."  In fact even 悲伤 is also seldom used. If you use either of these in daily, casual conversations, people might think you are a Time Traveler from the Song Dynasty, or a latter-day wannabe classical poet. The term commonly used in daily casual conversation is 伤心.
Wayne Cheah
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-16T17:01:58.450Z
2022-06-16T17:01:58.450Z
Anson Hall
<p>The difference between 悲傷 and 傷悲 is shown in the example sentences below.</p>
<p>悲傷 = sad (adj)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>那是一個悲傷的故事 - It is a sad story.</p>
</li>
<li><p>她感到無助的悲傷 - She feels hopelessly sad.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>悲傷,傷悲 = sadness (noun)</p>
<ul>
<li><p>悲傷/傷悲(rare)無補於事 - Sadness is useless in resolving matters.</p>
</li>
<li><p>無限的悲傷/傷悲(rare) - Endless sadness.</p>
</li>
<li><p>少壮不努力,老大徒傷悲/悲傷(informal) - Lack of putting up great effort while young, one would be left with regret/sadness in his old age.</p>
</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-16T01:09:30.667Z
2022-06-16T01:09:30.667Z
r13
<p>悲傷 and 傷悲 mean exactly the same.</p>
<p>Changing the order of a compound word that the two characters have a similar meaning is a common practice in the classical speaking style.</p>
<p>Why do so?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Make the speech sounds more classical.</p>
</li>
<li><p>It shows the speaker has a deep understanding of the word</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>You have to know the rule to bend the rule. Not all compound word's orders are reversible.</p>
<p>Example:</p>
<p>擊(hit) = 打(hit)</p>
<p>擊打 = <strong>打擊</strong> (hit)</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>待(wait) = 等(wait)</p>
<p>待等 = <strong>等待</strong> (wait)</p>
<p>~</p>
<p>傷(sad) = 悲(sad)</p>
<p>傷悲 = <strong>悲傷</strong> (sad)</p>
<p>Example sentences:</p>
<p>以槌頭打擊鐵釘 (more colloquial) = 以槌頭擊打鐵釘 (more literary)</p>
<p>等待春天歸來 (more colloquial) = 待等春歸 (classical; literary)</p>
<p>到年老之時只剩下悲傷 (colloquial) = 老大徒傷悲 (classical; literary)</p>
<p>My advice is:  Make sure the compound word is reversible before you reverse the order of the two characters.</p>
<p>For example, the order of 明白 (understand) is quite rigid. Although both 明 and 白 contain the meaning of 'clear', 明白 cannot become 白明, because the main meaning of 白 is 'white' and 'wasted', and the main meaning of 明 is 'bright'. 白明 sounds more like 'white and bright' than 'understand'</p>
<p>Reversible compound words are mostly verbs or adjectives. Nouns are rarely reversible. e.g. 車房 and 房車 have completely different meanings</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-15T19:04:50.293Z
so “悲傷” is more commonly used in spoken Chinese than “傷悲” ?
reinardhz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-15T19:05:40.393Z
Agree that 悲傷 = 傷悲, which is mostly seen in poem writing. However, be aware that 打擊 may not be replaced by 擊打 - 這是一個相當的打擊. I've not heard of 待等, it seems only in poems that are required by 壓韻, so the words are flipped.
r13
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-15T19:06:45.580Z
擊打 can replace 打擊 only when they are used as verbs. A good example of 'know the rule before you can bend the rule' 打擊鐵釘 --> 擊打鐵釘 is ok. 一個沈重的打擊 --> 一個沈重的擊打 is not ok.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-06-15T18:50:35.053Z
2022-06-16T16:37:12.937Z
2022-06-16T16:37:12.937Z
Tang Ho
<ol>
<li><p>What is the difference between “悲傷” and “傷悲”? Because I saw it on the dictionary, they both have the same meaning which is &quot;sad&quot;.</p>
</li>
<li><p>Is there a special context in Chinese grammar where we need to use “悲傷” or “傷悲” ?</p>
</li>
</ol>

<grammar>
What is the difference between “悲傷” and “傷悲”?
# What is the difference between “悲傷” and “傷悲”?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-06-15)

1. What is the difference between “悲傷” and “傷悲”? Because I saw it on the dictionary, they both have the same meaning which is "sad".
2. Is there a special context in Chinese grammar where we need to use “悲傷” or “傷悲” ?

**Tags:** grammar

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2022-06-15. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

悲傷 and 傷悲 mean exactly the same.

Changing the order of a compound word that the two characters have a similar meaning is a common practice in the classical speaking style.

Why do so?

1. Make the speech sounds more classical.
2. It shows the speaker has a deep understanding of the word

You have to know the rule to bend the rule. Not all compound word's orders are reversible.

Example:

擊(hit) = 打(hit)

擊打 = **打擊** (hit)

~

待(wait) = 等(wait)

待等 = **等待** (wait)

~

傷(sad) = 悲(sad)

傷悲 = **悲傷** (sad)

Example sentences:

以槌頭打擊鐵釘 (more colloquial) = 以槌頭擊打鐵釘 (more literary)

等待春天歸來 (more colloquial) = 待等春歸 (classical; literary)

到年老之時只剩下悲傷 (colloquial) = 老大徒傷悲 (classical; literary)

My advice is: Make sure the compound word is reversible before you reverse the order of the two characters.

For example, the order of 明白 (understand) is quite rigid. Although both 明 and 白 contain the meaning of 'clear', 明白 cannot become 白明, because the main meaning of 白 is 'white' and 'wasted', and the main meaning of 明 is 'bright'. 白明 sounds more like 'white and bright' than 'understand'

Reversible compound words are mostly verbs or adjectives. Nouns are rarely reversible. e.g. 車房 and 房車 have completely different meanings

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: so “悲傷” is more commonly used in spoken Chinese than “傷悲” ?  
> **username_3**: Agree that 悲傷 = 傷悲, which is mostly seen in poem writing. However, be aware that 打擊 may not be replaced by 擊打 - 這是一個相當的打擊. I've not heard of 待等, it seems only in poems that are required by 壓韻, so the words are flipped.  
> **username_4**: 擊打 can replace 打擊 only when they are used as verbs. A good example of 'know the rule before you can bend the rule' 打擊鐵釘 --> 擊打鐵釘 is ok. 一個沈重的打擊 --> 一個沈重的擊打 is not ok.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-06-16. Score: 3

As a Chinese native speaker,we never say 伤悲 in our daily life.伤悲 is always appearing in poems or songs.It also never shows in any kind of articles.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Quote:- "...we never say 伤悲 in our daily life..."  In fact even 悲伤 is also seldom used. If you use either of these in daily, casual conversations, people might think you are a Time Traveler from the Song Dynasty, or a latter-day wannabe classical poet. The term commonly used in daily casual conversation is 伤心.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-06-16. Score: 2

The difference between 悲傷 and 傷悲 is shown in the example sentences below.

悲傷 = sad (adj)

* 那是一個悲傷的故事 - It is a sad story.
* 她感到無助的悲傷 - She feels hopelessly sad.

悲傷,傷悲 = sadness (noun)

* 悲傷/傷悲(rare)無補於事 - Sadness is useless in resolving matters.
* 無限的悲傷/傷悲(rare) - Endless sadness.
* 少壮不努力,老大徒傷悲/悲傷(informal) - Lack of putting up great effort while young, one would be left with regret/sadness in his old age.


---

