千刀万剐 (qiān dāo wàn guǎ) — (historical punishment) death by a thousand cuts; (figurative, curse) expressing extreme anger or hatred: 'you deserve to be cut to pieces' / 'damn it!'

Definition

A vivid chengyu that literally describes the historical 'death by a thousand cuts' punishment, now used almost only as a figurative curse to vent extreme anger at someone you despise.

idiom
(historical punishment) death by a thousand cuts(figurative, curse) expressing extreme anger or hatred: 'you deserve to be cut to pieces' / 'damn it!'

Examples

  • ，千刀万剐。
    Zài gǔ dài, qiān dāo wàn guǎ shì yì zhǒng jí qí cán kù de xíng fá.
    In ancient times, death by a thousand cuts was an extremely cruel punishment.
  • ，千刀万剐！
    Nǐ zhè zhǒng piàn zi, zhēn gāi bèi qiān dāo wàn guǎ!
    A liar like you really deserves to be cut to pieces!
  • ，千刀万剐。
    Nǐ zài bù hái wǒ qián, wǒ hèn bu de bǎ nǐ qiān dāo wàn guǎ le.
    If you still don't pay me back, I'd love to cut you to pieces.

Origin

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
一一yīone, signifying a number
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén千qiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

千 pairs 人, whose sound was similar, with 一, a number stroke; the extra line was explained as extension, and a thousand is a number reached by extending counting.

Open 千 →

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

The shape of 刀 comes from a simple picture of a knife.

Open 刀 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 萬; 万 is its simplified writing.

For 万, the form 萬 was originally a picture of a scorpion, later borrowed for its sound to write 'ten thousand'; the scorpion picture is unrelated to that number.

Open 万 →

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 剮; 剐 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
刀刀dāoknife
Sound part声符shēngfú
咼
咼wāi剮guǎ
Same sound today

The traditional form 剮 combines 咼, a sound part, with 刀, a knife, for the meaning cut.

Open 剐 →

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