凶 (xiōng) — fierce, vicious, ferocious; ominous, inauspicious
Definition
凶 is a single-character adjective covering both 'fierce/vicious' (a person, animal, weapon) and 'ominous/inauspicious' (a sign or omen). Unlike 凶猛/凶狠/凶恶, it is the bare base word — not inherently 'cruel', just the neutral root for fierceness.
adjective
fierceviciousferociousominousinauspicious
Easily confused
Examples
- 凶，。Nà zhī lǎo hǔ kàn qǐ lái fēi cháng xiōng, yóu kè dōu bù gǎn kào jìn.That tiger looks very fierce, and tourists dare not approach it.
- 。Tā zǒng jué de zuǒ yǎn pí tiào shì gè xiōng zhào.He always thinks a twitching left eyelid is an ominous sign.
- ，。Dǎi tú chí xiōng qì shāng rén, yǐ jīng bèi jǐng fāng dài bǔ.The criminal injured people with a lethal weapon and has been arrested by the police.
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