虐 (nüè): (bound form) brutal, oppressive, harsh, (literary) disaster, catastrophe
虐 (nüè) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) brutal.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 虍 (structural) and 彐 (structural). It ranks #2536 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 虐 a tiger 虍 baring its claws 彐. Its radical form 虍 (tiger) appears in many related characters such as 虑 (lǜ, to think over), 虎 (hǔ, tiger), 虚 (xū, emptiness).
Definitions
- (bound form) brutal
- oppressive
- harsh
- (literary) disaster
- catastrophe
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA tiger 虍 baring its claws 彐
Decomposition: ⿸虍彐 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 虐 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 虐待 | nüè dài | to mistreat |
| 肆虐 | sì nüè | to wreak havoc |
| 暴虐 | bào nüè | brutal |
| 助纣为虐 | zhù zhòu wéi nüè | lit. helping tyrant Zhou 商紂王|商纣王[Shang1 Zhou4 wang2] in his oppression (idiom) |
| 暴虐无道 | bào nüè wú dào | (idiom) tyrannical |
| 性虐待 | xìng nüè dài | sexual abuse |
| 施虐者 | shī nüè zhě | abuser |
| 谑而不虐 | xuè ér bù nüè | to tease |
| 受虐狂 | shòu nüè kuáng | masochism |
| 虐心 | nüè xīn | heartbreaking |
| 受虐 | shòu nüè | to suffer sexual abuse |
| 虐待狂 | nüè dài kuáng | sadism |
| 完虐 | wán nüè | to trounce |
| 施虐狂 | shī nüè kuáng | sadism (psychiatry) |
| 施虐受虐 | shī nüè shòu nüè | sado-masochism |
虐 appears in 21 compound words: 24 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 33 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 虐 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Example Sentences
写好虐字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。
xiě hǎo nüè zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .
To write the character "虐" correctly, you must master the proper stroke order.
彰化杜告犬疑遭虐杀弃尸!头骨破裂、断牙 检方要查了
zhāng huà dù gào quǎn yí zāo nüè shā qì shī ! tóu gǔ pò liè , duàn yá jiǎn fāng yāo chá le
Report of a Dog Found Dead in Changhua, Suspected of Being Abused and Killed! Skull Fractured, Teeth Broken—Prosecutors Launch Investigation
台八女星“被婆婆虐待二十年”黑化被骂惨
tái bā nǚ xīng bèi pó pó nüè dài èr shí nián hēi huà bèi mà cǎn
Taiwan eight actress "abused by her mother-in-law for 20 years" blackened and scolded miserably
云林大黄狗被人从5楼丢下“凶手抓到了” 虐狗原因曝光
yún lín dà huáng gǒu bèi rén cóng 5 lóu diū xià xiōng shǒu zhuā dào le nüè gǒu yuán yīn pù guāng
The big yellow dog in Yunlin was dropped from the 5th floor "The murderer was caught" and the reason for the dog abuse was exposed
上水粉锦公路3狗疑被虐待 1狗尾巴几乎甩脱
shàng shuǐ fěn jǐn gōng lù 3 gǒu yí bèi nüè dài 1 gǒu wěi bā jī hū shuǎi tuō
Sheung Shui Fenjin Highway 3 dogs suspected of being abused 1 dog's tail almost fell off
落马洲7日5狗疑中毒亡 列虐畜跟进狗尸将化验
luò mǎ zhōu 7 rì 5 gǒu yí zhōng dú wáng liè nüè chù gēn jìn gǒu shī jiāng huà yàn
5 dogs suspected of poisoning and died in Lok Ma Chau on the 7th, and the dog corpse will be tested for animal cruelty
据说汤姆虐待妻子。
Jùshuō Tāngmǔ nüèdài qīzi.
Tom is said to mistreat his wife.
他受到严重的虐待。
Tā shòudào yánzhòng de nüèdài.
He was treated with great cruelty.
坏孩子们喜欢虐待动物。
Huài háizimen xǐhuan nüèdài dòngwù.
Bad children love to torment animals.
没有什么比看见动物被虐打更能惹起我的怒火。
Méiyǒu shénme bǐ kànjiàn dòngwù bèi nüè dǎgēng néng rěqǐ wǒ de nùhuǒ.
Few things are more enraging to me than the sight of an animal being beaten.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 虐 (nüè) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 虐 have?
What is the radical of 虐?
What are the components of 虐?
What are common words containing 虐?
Is 虐 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 虐 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.