'偏颇' (piān pō) is a formal noun meaning 'one-sidedness' or 'bias'—a lack of fairness or balance in judgment, opinion, or treatment. The character 偏 means 'slanted', 'off-center', or 'partial', while 颇 originally meant 'quite' or 'rather' but here functions as a rhyming, reinforcing element to intensify the sense of imbalance. Together, they form a disyllabic compound that emphasizes unfair favoritism or distorted perspective—not mere personal preference, but a systematic deviation from objectivity.

This word appears frequently in written Chinese: editorials, academic critiques, legal discussions, and moral reflections. It carries a mildly negative connotation and implies criticism of flawed reasoning or unjust attitudes. Unlike colloquial terms like '偏向' (piān xiàng), 偏颇 is more abstract, evaluative, and often used to describe entrenched or institutional bias rather than momentary inclination.