屠戮 (tú lù) — to massacre, to slaughter (literary) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Literary, written-Chinese verb meaning 'to massacre, to slaughter' — used in historical or formal narrative, not everyday speech. Stronger and more graphic than the neutral 屠杀, which is the standard word in modern prose.

verb

to massacreto slaughter (literary)

Examples

屠戮。
Qīn lüè zhě tú lù le wú shù wú gū de píng mín.
The invaders massacred countless innocent civilians.
屠戮。
Lì shǐ shàng fā shēng guò xǔ duō dà guī mó tú lù de shì jiàn.
Many large-scale massacre events have occurred in history.
屠戮。
Tā men zài zhàn zhēng zhōng tú lù le wú gū de bǎi xìng.
They massacred innocent civilians in the war.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

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

屠túslaughter

屠 and 戮 both convey killing, so the word means massacre.

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.

尸者屠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

尸尸shībody

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

屠 combines 尸 (body) with 者, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

翏戈戮

Meaning part形符xíngfú

戈戈gēdagger axe

Sound part声符shēngfú

翏

翏liù戮lù

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

戮 combines 翏, which gives the sound, with 戈, a dagger axe, to show the meaning.

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