草菅人命 (cǎo jiān rén mìng) — to treat human life as if it were worthless; to have utter disregard for human life

Definition

A chengyu meaning 'to treat human life as worthless,' used to condemn authorities or actors who kill or harm people with total disregard. Note: 草菅 is a fixed literary compound — never split or substitute characters.

verb
to treat human life as if it were worthlessto have utter disregard for human life

Examples

  • 草菅人命，。
    Nà ge bào jūn cǎo jiān rén mìng, bǎi xìng kǔ bù kān yán.
    That tyrant treats human life as worthless, and the people suffer unspeakably.
  • 草菅人命。
    Rèn hé cǎo jiān rén mìng de xíng wéi dōu huì shòu dào fǎ lǜ de yán chéng.
    Any act that treats human life as worthless will be severely punished by law.
  • 草菅人命，。
    Tā wèi le lì yì cǎo jiān rén mìng, zuì zhōng zì shí qí guǒ.
    He treated human life as worthless for profit and ultimately reaped what he sowed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

草菅grass and sedge
草cǎograss菅jiānsedge
联合Side by side
人命human life
人rénhuman命mìnglife
偏正Modifier + head

Grass and sedge compared to a person's life: life treated as worthless.

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎo
Sound part声符shēngfú
官
官guān菅jiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

菅 is written with 艹 on top to mark a plant and 官 underneath to show its pronunciation.

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

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