灭绝人性 (miè jué rén xìng) — inhuman, barbaric, devoid of human decency

Definition

A fixed phrase (成语) meaning ‘utterly inhuman, barbaric.’ Used as an attributive modifier before deeds (行为, 暴行, 罪行) to condemn extreme cruelty.

verb
inhumanbarbaricdevoid of human decency

Examples

  • 灭绝人性。
    Zhè zhǒng miè jué rén xìng de xíng wéi lìng rén fà zhǐ.
    This kind of inhuman behavior is outrageous.
  • 灭绝人性。
    Lì shǐ shàng nà xiē miè jué rén xìng de bào xíng yǒng yuǎn bú huì bèi wàng jì.
    Those barbaric atrocities in history will never be forgotten.
  • 灭绝人性。
    Tā men fàn xià le miè jué rén xìng de zuì xíng.
    They committed inhuman crimes.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

灭绝destroy
灭mièextinguish绝juécut off
联合Side by side
人性human nature
人rénhuman性xìngnature
偏正Modifier + head

灭绝 destroy and 人性 human nature combine to describe destroying human decency.

Characters in this word

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 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絕; 绝 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 絕, 刀 (knife) and 幺 (silk) show a knife cutting silk threads. The simplified 绝 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original picture.

Open 绝 →

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
忄Written in full as心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
生
生shēng性xìng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

性 is built from 忄 (the heart) and 生 (a sound clue). The heart part connects the word to a person's inner nature or quality.

Open 性 →

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