Definitions
(verb)
to kill; to murder
(verb)
to attack
(verb)
to weaken; to reduce
Etymology
Simplified form of 殺. Depicts a person being decapitated.
About
The character "杀", derived from its traditional form "殺", originally denoted the act of killing or slaughter, with its structure incorporating the radical "殳" to signify a weapon or violent action alongside a phonetic component that reinforced its meaning. Etymologically, it conveyed concrete violence, but over time its application expanded to include metaphorical senses of weakening, reducing, or eliminating, evident in compounds referring to diminishing forces, sterilizing, or haggling over prices. The simplified form "杀" resulted from a gradual orthographic streamlining that retained the essential phonetic and semantic core while omitting the more complex radical, thus maintaining the character's fundamental association with cessation or termination across both literal and figurative uses.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他杀了一只鸡。
杀菌消毒很重要。
妈妈在厨房杀鱼。
这个故事里有谋杀案。
他试图杀价但失败了。
这种农药可以杀虫。
战争带来了无数杀戮。
他因杀人罪被逮捕。