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Change log entry 71926
Processed by: richwarm (2021-03-27 03:18:22 GMT)
Comment: << review queue entry 67768 - submitted by 'malcolm_schonfield' >>
I propose to add "drawback/disadvantage".
Discussed here: https://chinese.stackexchange.com/questions/42853/how-do-we-reconcile-the-different-definitions-for-%e5%bc%8a%e7%ab%af-in-the-hsk-standard-course/42854
现代汉语大词典 states that 弊端 can mean 弊病. And most references agree that 弊病 can be translated as drawback/disadvantage.
It seems that most CN/EN dictionaries do not give the full range of meanings for this word. It is worth mentioning that CFDICT does give the "drawback/disadvantage" meaning, via the French word "inconvénient".
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Editor: This is one of my favourite things: rewriting the definition for a word whose definition doesn't match observed usage (especially when it's a commonly used word like 弊端). So thanks for drawing attention to it, Malcolm. (And welcome! -- since it seems this is your first contribution.)

I think our current definition was probably adequate for the way 弊端 was used 50 or 60 years ago, but the meaning has evidently become broader over recent decades, and dictionaries haven't kept up with the change.

An early definition I found is "evil practices; corruption" [in "A Beginners' Chinese-English Dictionary of the National Language (Gwoyeu)" by W. Simon, which was first published in 1947.]

The definition published in 1978 in "A Chinese-English Dictionary" was still much the same: "malpractice; abuse; corrupt practice". This definition was copied and recopied into many dictionaries – including cc-cedict, obviously.

It looks to me like the definition broadened from specific issues like malfeasance to encompass systemic problems in general. Here are two examples mentioned in your StackExchange link:
- 现行制度存在诸多弊端,已到非改不可的地步。
- 疫情使殡葬行业原本就存在的诸多弊端浮出了水面。

I would say that "drawback" and "disadvantage" are off the mark here, and that while "shortcomings" works ok in a translation, "shortcomings of a system" would be more accurate as a *definition*. The 2nd sentence is translated in the video as
"The epidemic made many of the disadvantages inherent in the funeral industry exposed."
I don't think it's quite accurate to say that that sentence is talking about the "disadvantages" or "drawbacks" of the funeral industry, though. I'd go with something like
"The epidemic exposed many systemic problems in the funeral industry."

If a phone's battery only lasts a few hours, you can call that a "drawback" or "disadvantage" of that model, but I don't think you'd call it a 弊端 because we aren't really talking about a *system* here, but rather, a consumer product.

More examples:
希望多管齊下,以矯正如今的聯考弊端。
"He hopes that aiming at the target from a number of different directions will rectify the deficiencies of today's joint entrance examinations."
[They are talking about problems with the examination system.]

台灣長期以來的兒少收出養制度,出現什麼問題?《兒少法》2011年年底修正通過,今年五月即將上路的新法,又能如何匡正弊端?
"What issues have plagued Taiwan’s adoption system over the years? When the November 2011 amendment to the Children and Youth Welfare Act takes effect in May 2012, how will it rectify current problems?"
[They are talking about problems with the adoption system.]

為了解決健保的諸多弊端,
"In order to alleviate NHI's many problems, ..."
[They are talking about the problems with Taiwan's national health insurance system.]

讓台灣都市快速「美國化」,帶動了其後二十年房地產的勃發,但也造成重劃區氾濫閒置、餘屋至今難以消化的種種弊端。
"led to the rapid Americanization of Taiwan's cities and more than 20 years of real estate prosperity, but also caused lasting problems such as rezoned land sitting unused, and excess housing."
[They are talking about the problems with Taiwan's town planning system.]

建築在石化基礎上的工業化農作制度,弊端多多,
"The system of industrialized agriculture built on a foundation of petroleum is obviously riddled with flaws."
[Again, it's a *system* that has a problem.]
Diff:
- 弊端 弊端 [bi4 duan1] /malpractice/abuse/corrupt practice/
# + 弊端 弊端 [bi4 duan1] /malpractice/abuse/corrupt practice/drawback/disadvantage/
+ 弊端 弊端 [bi4 duan1] /systemic problem (sometimes refers specifically to corrupt practices)/
By MDBG 2024
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