杀气腾腾 (shā qì téng téng) — murderous-looking; filled with a violent, hostile atmosphere

Definition

A vivid chengyu describing a person or scene radiating intense, murderous hostility — stronger than just 'angry,' it implies a threatening intent to harm.

idiom
murderous-lookingfilled with a violenthostile atmosphere

Examples

  • 杀气腾腾，。
    Tā zǒu jìn lái de shí hou shā qì téng téng, méi rén gǎn shuō huà.
    When he walked in with a murderous look, no one dared to speak.
  • 杀气腾腾，。
    Zhàn chǎng shàng shā qì téng téng, shì bīng men jǐn wò wǔ qì.
    The battlefield was filled with a violent atmosphere; soldiers gripped their weapons tightly.
  • 杀气腾腾，。
    Duì fāng yǎn shén shā qì téng téng, wǒ gǎn jǐn hòu tuì le jǐ bù.
    The other person's eyes were murderous, so I quickly stepped back a few paces.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
米米mǐrice
Sound part声符shēngfú
气
气qì氣qì
Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Open 气 →

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 騰; 腾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
朕
朕zhèn騰téng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 騰 pairs 馬 (horse) with 朕 as a sound part; it described a horse's gallop or prance. The simplified 腾 is a later shorthand.

Open 腾 →

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 騰; 腾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
朕
朕zhèn騰téng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 騰 pairs 馬 (horse) with 朕 as a sound part; it described a horse's gallop or prance. The simplified 腾 is a later shorthand.

Open 腾 →

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