给 + 人 + 贴上…的标签
to label sb as …; to pigeonhole
Structure
给 某人 贴上 “评价” 的标签
What it means
To label someone: sum up a person or group in a word, usually unfairly, so it is mildly critical. Literally, sticking a label on goods.
How it is built
给 + person + 贴上 + “label” + 的标签: 别急着给别人贴上“i人”的标签 (don't rush to label people as introverts). Passive: 被（人）贴上…的标签.
When to use it
Common in essays, media and talk about stereotypes. The opposite is 撕掉标签. A similar, more political image is 给人扣帽子, “to slap a hat on someone”.
Watch out
The person goes after 给, before the verb: ✗贴他标签 ✗贴标签给他 ✓给他贴上…的标签. 上 shows the label sticking; the label goes in quotation marks before 的标签.
Examples
别急着给别人贴上“i人”的标签，也许他只是跟你还不熟。
Don’t be in a hurry to label someone an i; perhaps they just don’t know you well yet.
一次没考好，就给孩子贴上“笨”的标签，这比考砸了更伤人。
Branding a child “stupid” after one bad exam hurts more than the exam itself.
不少年轻人不愿意被贴上“躺平”的标签。
Many young people don’t want to be labelled as “lying flat”.
Learn this in Lesson 249 · HSK 9+: i人还是e人 (Introvert or extrovert?)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
Open the lesson →