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凶残 (xiōng cán) — cruel, fierce, savage

Definition

Highlights savage, animal-like ferocity (fierce looks, violent acts). Compared with 残忍 and 残酷, it leans toward brutal physical force rather than emotional coldness or harsh circumstances.

adjective
cruelfiercesavage

Examples

  • 凶残。
    Dí rén duì fú lǔ de xiōng cán xíng wéi lìng rén fà zhǐ.
    The enemy's cruel treatment of prisoners was outrageous.
  • 凶残。
    Zhè zhī láng de yǎn shén fēi cháng xiōng cán.
    This wolf's eyes look very fierce.
  • 凶残。
    Lì shǐ shàng nà xiē xiōng cán de tǒng zhì zhě zuì zhōng dōu méi yǒu hǎo xià chǎng.
    Those cruel rulers in history all came to a bad end.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

凶xiōngfierce
残cáncruel

凶 and 残 reinforce each other, describing fierce cruelty.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

凶 originally drew a hole with a lump of rock, mud, stone, or bamboo in it.

Open 凶 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Personality & Traits

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