兽行 (shòu xíng) — brutal act, atrocity

Definition

A formal, written word for a brutal or atrocious act — literally 'beastly conduct', stronger than 暴行 and used for cruelty rather than ordinary violence.

noun
brutal actatrocity
Easily confused

Examples

  • 兽行。
    Zhè zhǒng xíng wéi jiǎn zhí shì shòu xíng.
    This kind of behavior is simply a brutal act.
  • 兽行。
    Tā men fàn xià le lìng rén fà zhǐ de shòu xíng.
    They committed heinous brutal acts.
  • 兽行。
    Lì shǐ shàng zhè yàng de shòu xíng shǔ bú shèng shǔ.
    In history, such brutal acts are countless.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

兽shòuanimal
行xíngact

兽 suggests animal and 行 act, painting acts as cruel as an animal's.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 獸; 兽 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 獸 combines 單 (hunting weapon) and 犬 (dog) to show hunting; the simplified 兽 is a shorthand.

Open 兽 →

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

  • 彳彳chì
  • 亍亍chù

The shape of 行 originally showed a street intersection, even on both sides. Later it became uneven, with 彳 on the left and 亍 on the right.

Open 行 →

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.