Definition
禽兽 literally means 'birds and beasts' — all non-human animals collectively. In modern Chinese, it is far more common as a fierce insult: calling someone 禽兽 accuses them of acting like a cruel, immoral animal, lacking basic humanity. Use with extreme caution; it's one of the strongest Chinese insults, similar to 'monster' or 'savage' in English.
noun
birds and beastsanimals (collective, literary)beastly personbrutesavage (strong insult)
Examples
- 禽兽。Zhè zhǒng xíngwéi jiǎnzhí lián qín shòu dōu bùrú.This kind of behavior is even worse than that of an animal.
- ，禽兽。Tā nüèdài értóng, jiǎnzhí shì ge qín shòu.He abuses children — he's an absolute brute.
- 禽兽。Gǔdài wénxiàn zhōng cháng jiāng qín shòu yǔ rénlèi duìbǐ.Ancient texts often contrast birds and beasts with humans.
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