輩

Phono-semantic compound:

輩 = 車 (“cart; row; series”, semantic) + 非 (“not; wrong”, phonetic)

車 — semantic: indicates a group or series of objects/people arranged in order, like carts aligned

非 — phonetic element giving the sound “배”

Originally associated with things arranged in rows (like carts), hence “a line, a group.”

Later broadened to mean group/class of people, companions, or peer group, and eventually used as a plural marker in Classical Chinese.

In Korean, 輩 often carries a slightly negative or disdainful nuance (“~놈들”, “~패거리”), unlike Chinese and Japanese where it is generally neutral.

Group / kind / type:

同輩 (동배) — peer; person of equal standing

中輩 (중배) — the middle-aged group (rare/older usage)

先輩 (선배) — senior (lit. “preceding generation”)

後輩 (후배) — junior (lit. “later generation”)

Pejorative nuance (강한 한국어 특수성):

악당輩 (악당배) — villainous gang

불량輩 (불량배) — hoodlums; delinquents

건달輩 (건달배) — loafers; worthless fellows

In Korean, 輩 often ≈ “-배”, meaning negative “gang / group of guys."

Classical plural marker (문어체):

我輩 (아배) — we; our group

君子輩 (군자배) — the gentlemen

士人輩 (사인배) — the scholars; literati

Neutral literary usage:

同世輩 (동세배) — those of the same generation

詩人輩 (시인배) — poets (as a group)

輩 appears prominently in Korean hierarchical culture:

선배 → 후배 system (school, work, military)

These are not pejorative, despite the character’s frequent negative tone elsewhere.

Classical citations:

《莊子·天下篇》 (Zhuangzi)

「商賈之人，百工之輩。」

“Merchants and artisans — these various groups of people” — 輩 = group; category.

《論語·子路》 (The Analects of Confucius)

「君子疾沒世而名不稱焉。」(後世註: 常以士輩言之)

“The gentleman resents dying without his name being honored” — Commentaries frequently use 輩 to refer to classes of scholars.

《史記·荊軻列傳》 (Records of the Grand Historian)

「吾輩不羞也。」

“We would not be ashamed” — 吾輩 = we (plural pronoun)

《孟子·滕文公下》 (Mencius)

「爾輩不能至於此。」

“You people cannot reach this level” — 爾輩 = you all (sometimes reproachful)