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自相残杀 (zì xiāng cán shā) — to fight or harm each other within the same group; mutual destruction among allies; fratricide; internecine conflict

Definition

An idiom for mutual destruction within the same group — members of a team, party, or family turning on each other. Stronger and more literary than plain 'internal conflict' (内部冲突), evoking lethal or violent fratricide rather than mere disagreement.

idiom
to fight or harm each other within the same groupmutual destruction among alliesfratricideinternecine conflict

Examples

  • 自相残杀，。
    Gōng sī nèi bù de jìng zhēng yǐ jīng biàn chéng le yì chǎng zì xiāng cán shā, dà jiā dōu xiǎng zhēng duó zhǔ dǎo quán.
    The internal competition within the company has turned into a mutual destruction, with everyone trying to seize control.
  • ，自相残杀。
    Lì shǐ shàng, zhè ge wáng cháo yīn wèi huáng shì chéng yuán zhī jiān de zì xiāng cán shā ér xùn sù shuāi luò.
    In history, this dynasty rapidly declined due to fratricide among the royal family members.
  • 自相残杀，。
    Rú guǒ tuán duì jì xù zhè yàng zì xiāng cán shā xià qù, xiàng mù kěn dìng huì shī bài.
    If the team continues this internal strife, the project will surely fail.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

In 相, 目 is an eye and 木 is a tree, showing an eye looking at a tree; this originally meant “to observe.”

Open 相 →

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 殘; 残 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎivicious, bones
Sound part声符shēngfú
戔
戔jiān殘cán
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 殘 pairs 歹, a bone shape for injury, with 戔 for its sound; the simplified 残 is a later shorthand.

Open 残 →

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
Conflict & AgreementIdioms & Set Phrases

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