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刺杀 (cì shā) — to assassinate (a political or prominent figure); to stab to death

Definition

刺杀 means to assassinate — typically a political or prominent figure, often with a hidden or sudden attack (weapon or close-range). It carries more political intent than a plain stabbing (刺伤/damage) and more stealth than 攻击.

verb
to assassinate (a political or prominent figure)to stab to death

Examples

  • 刺杀。
    Nà míng zǒng tǒng zài jiē tóu bèi cì shā le.
    That president was assassinated on the street.
  • 刺杀。
    Tā yòng dāo cì shā le rù qīn zhě.
    He stabbed the intruder to death with a knife.
  • 刺杀。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ de cì kè duō cì shì tú cì shā guó wáng.
    The assassin in the novel attempted to assassinate the king multiple times.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

刺cìstab
杀shākill

刺 gives the stabbing action, while 杀 adds the death that follows.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刂Written in full as刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì刺cì
Same sound today

刺 pairs 刂 (knife) with 朿, which gives the sound; the knife part fits actions like stabbing or pricking.

Open 刺 →

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 →
Appears in
Crime & Police

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