杀灭 (shā miè) — to exterminate; to eliminate; to wipe out

Definition

杀灭 (shā miè) is an emphatic compound verb: 杀 ('kill') + 灭 ('extinguish') — used for systematically wiping out pests, bacteria, viruses, or other harmful organisms. Far more forceful than 消除 (xiāochú), which just means to eliminate or remove.

verb
to exterminateto eliminateto wipe out

Examples

  • 杀灭。
    Zhè zhǒng yào kě yǐ shā miè xì jūn.
    This medicine can kill bacteria.
  • 杀灭。
    Nóng mín shǐ yòng nóng yào lái shā miè hài chóng.
    Farmers use pesticides to eliminate pests.
  • 杀灭，。
    Wǒ men xū yào shā miè zhè xiē bìng dú, fáng zhǐ chuán bō.
    We need to wipe out these viruses to prevent spread.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

杀shākill
灭mièexterminate

杀 (kill) leads to 灭 (exterminate), together meaning wipe out.

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 滅; 灭 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
烕
烕miè滅miè
Same sound today

The traditional form 滅 pairs 氵 (water) with 烕 as a sound part to mean extinguish by water; the simplified 灭 is a later shorthand.

Open 灭 →

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