TongTong通通
Sign in

罪魁祸首 (zuì kuí huò shǒu) — (idiom) chief culprit, main offender; (figurative) the primary cause of a disaster or problem

Definition

An idiom meaning 'chief culprit' — the person or thing most responsible for a crime, disaster, or problem. Stronger and more literary than just calling someone the 'main cause' (主要原因).

idiom
chief culpritmain offender
phrase
(figurative) the primary cause of a disaster or problem

Examples

  • 罪魁祸首。
    Qì hòu biàn huà shì xǔ duō zì rán zāi hài de zuì kuí huò shǒu.
    Climate change is the main culprit of many natural disasters.
  • 罪魁祸首。
    Jǐng fāng zhōng yú zhuā huò le zhè ge fàn zuì tuán huǒ de zuì kuí huò shǒu.
    The police finally captured the ringleader of this criminal gang.
  • 罪魁祸首。
    Zhè cì shī bài de zuì kuí huò shǒu shì tā de cū xīn dà yi.
    The main cause of this failure was his carelessness.
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Crime & PoliceIdioms & Set Phrases

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