歹 (dǎi): bad, wicked, evil
歹 (dǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “bad.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural) and 夕 (structural). It ranks #2695 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 歹 a corpse. Its radical form 歹 (death) appears in many related characters such as 死 (sǐ, to die), 殊 (shū, (literary) to kill), 残 (cán, to destroy).
Definitions
- bad
- wicked
- evil
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 歹 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 歹徒noun | dǎi tú | evildoer |
| 好歹noun | hǎo dǎi | good and bad |
| 为非作歹phrase | wéi fēi zuò dǎi | to break the law and commit crimes (idiom) |
| 歹毒adjective | dǎi dú | vicious |
| 歹人noun | dǎi rén | bad person |
| 好说歹说 | hǎo shuō dǎi shuō | (idiom) to try one's very best to persuade sb |
| 不知好歹phrase | bù zhī hǎo dǎi | unable to differentiate good from bad (idiom) |
| 不识好歹adjective | bù shí hǎo dǎi | unable to tell good from bad (idiom) |
| 做好做歹 | zuò hǎo zuò dǎi | to persuade using all possible arguments (idiom) |
| 歹意noun | dǎi yì | evil intent |
| 歹命adjective | dǎi mìng | (Tw) to have been dealt a hard lot in life (from Taiwanese, Tai-lo pr. [pháinn-miā]) |
| 歹势interjection | dǎi shì | (Tw) excuse me |
歹 appears in 12 compound words: 50 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 8 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 歹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
cannot tell good from bad; to mistake good for bad; to be unable to see others' good intentions
(idiom) to try one's very best to persuade sb; to reason with sb in every way possible
cannot tell good from bad; to mistake good for bad; to be unable to see others' good intentions
(idiom) to try one's very best to persuade sb; to reason with sb in every way possible
Example Sentences
歹字由4笔画组成，结构很巧妙。
dǎi zì yóu bǐ huà zǔ chéng , jié gòu hěn qiǎo miào .
The character "歹" consists of four strokes, with a remarkably ingenious structure.
身体像人，大脑像人，工作起来才像人 手机和汽车好歹还有成熟的操作系统和产业链托底。
shēn tǐ xiàng rén , dà nǎo xiàng rén , gōng zuò qǐ lái cái xiàng rén shǒu jī hé qì chē hǎo dǎi hái yǒu chéng shú de cāo zuò xì tǒng hé chǎn yè liàn tuō de .
If the body is human-like and the brain is human-like, then it functions like a human. At least smartphones and cars have mature operating systems and supply chains to back them up.
虽说体验有诸多瑕疵，但好歹能看视频。
suī shuō tǐ yàn yǒu zhū duō xiá cī , dàn hǎo dǎi néng kàn shì pín .
Although the user experience has its flaws, at least you can watch videos.
不信会歹命 5个月内肠癌1期变4期 医:不是特例
bù xìn huì dǎi mìng 5 gè yuè nèi cháng ái 1 qī biàn 4 qī yī : bù shì tè lì
"I didn't believe I was doomed"—Stage 1 colon cancer progressed to Stage 4 within 5 months; doctor: "This is not an isolated case"
撞击瞬间曝光!彰化警匪追逐 歹徒飞车闯红灯撞瓦斯货车
zhuàng jī shùn jiān pù guāng ! zhāng huà jǐng fěi zhuī zhú dǎi tú fēi chē chuǎng hóng dēng zhuàng wǎ sī huò chē
The moment of impact caught on camera! In a police chase in Changhua, a suspect ran a red light and crashed into a gas truck
日本大阪Brand Off遭窃! 歹徒破窗狂扫数十件贵金属奢侈品
rì běn dà 阪 B r a n d O f f zāo qiè ! dǎi tú pò chuāng kuáng sǎo shǔ shí jiàn guì jīn shǔ shē chǐ pǐn
Brand Off in Osaka, Japan was stolen! Gangsters broke windows and swept dozens of precious metal luxury goods
这个小孩不知好歹。
Zhège xiǎohái bùzhīhǎodǎi.
This child don't know what's coming for him.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 歹 (dǎi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 歹 and 好?
How many strokes does 歹 have?
What is the radical of 歹?
What are the components of 歹?
What are common words containing 歹?
What characters sound the same as 歹 (dǎi)?
Is 歹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 歹 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.