to kill, to slay, to murder
English · to kill, to slay, to murder
to kill or slay
- 不要杀生。bù yào shā shēng.Do not take life.
- 气死我了！qì sǐ wǒ le!I am infuriated to death! (Note: 杀 is also used as an intensifier suffix in words like 累杀).
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (木 variant structure) and the right side (殳) must be well-balanced; keep the right side strokes sharp and descending cleanly.
Simplification Logic: Simplified from 殺. The left-top structure was simplified, and parts of the right side were streamlined for easier writing.
Radical 殳 · Weapon / Hurl Radical (weapon, staff, or striking tool)
Semantic Clue (形旁): 殳 (indicates striking or killing with a weapon)
The character combines a structure on the left (originally representing a tree or body) with the weapon radical (殳) on the right, graphically depicting the act of striking down with a weapon.
- 木 Tree / wood base element on the left
- 殳 Weapon / striking tool on the right
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
5· Phonetic Root: 杀 (shā)Origin: Originally depicted a person or object being struck or subdued with a weapon (殳), evolving into the general concept of killing or defeating.
Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of striking with a weapon to killing, and later extended to mean reducing, weakening, or acting as an intensifier suffix.
- The weapon radical 殳 frequently appears in ancient Chinese characters related to combat, weapons, and striking.
Imagine a warrior using a wooden staff and a weapon (殳) to strike down an opponent, completely ending ('killing') the threat in one swift high stroke (Tone 1).
shāConfusing 杀 (shā) with 沙 (shā) or getting the tone wrong by treating it as a dipping Tone 3 instead of a high flat Tone 1.
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