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虐 (nuè:) — (bound form) cruel; tyrannical

Definition

虐 is a bound morpheme meaning 'cruel' — it never stands alone. In HSK words it forms compounds like 虐待 (maltreat), 暴虐 (brutal), and 虐杀 (kill cruelly).

bound form
crueltyrannical

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā jīng cháng nuè: dài xiǎo dòng wù, zhēn cán rěn.
    He often maltreats small animals — really cruel.
  • 虐，。
    Zhè ge bào jūn shí xíng nuè: zhèng, bǎi xìng shēng huó hěn tòng kǔ.
    This tyrant imposed tyrannical rule, making the people's lives very painful.
  • 虐。
    Zhàn zhēng zhōng de nuè: shā xíng wéi shòu dào guó jì qiǎn zé.
    The acts of cruel killing in war were condemned internationally.

Origin

Compound ideograph
六书liùshū
会意huìyì

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

An early form of 虐 showed 虎 (a tiger) and 人 (a person), like a tiger about to eat a person; this picture later came to mean cruel or tyrannical.

Appears in
Personality & Traits

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