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赶尽杀绝 (gǎn jìn shā jué) — to exterminate completely; to spare none; to be ruthless

Definition

A chengyu meaning to 'wipe out completely, leave no survivors' — strongly negative, about total ruthlessness toward enemies or rivals. Pairs with 对 + person, as in 对敌人∼.

idiom
to exterminate completelyto spare noneto be ruthless

Examples

  • ，，赶尽杀绝。
    Zài zhàn zhēng zhōng, tā men duì dí rén háo bù liú qíng, gǎn jìn shā jué.
    In the war, they showed no mercy and exterminated the enemy completely.
  • ，赶尽杀绝。
    Yǒu xiē gōng sī wèi le lǒng duàn shì chǎng, duì jìng zhēng duì shǒu gǎn jìn shā jué.
    Some companies, in order to monopolize the market, are ruthless towards their competitors.
  • ，赶尽杀绝。
    Tā wán yóu xì shí bù liú huó lù, duì měi gè duì shǒu dōu gǎn jìn shā jué.
    When he plays games, he leaves no way out and shows no mercy to any opponent.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

赶尽drive to exhaustion
赶gǎndrive尽jìnexhaust
补充Verb + complement
杀绝kill to extinction
杀shākill绝juéextinguish
补充Verb + complement

It pairs 赶尽, drive to exhaustion, with 杀绝, kill to extinction, for total ruthlessness.

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 趕; 赶 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
走走zǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
旱
旱hàn趕gǎn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 趕 combines 走, for the meaning, and 旱, for the sound; this is about 趕, not 赶.

Open 赶 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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 →

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 →
Appears in
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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