杀 (shā): to kill, to slay, to murder, to attack, to weaken, to reduce, (dialect) to smart
杀 (shā) is a Chinese character meaning “to kill.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 乂 (structural) and 木 (structural). It ranks #587 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 杀 to kill 乂 someone and bury them in a coffin 木. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- to kill
- to slay
- to murder
- to attack
- to weaken
- to reduce
- (dialect) to smart
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo kill 乂 someone and bury them in a coffin 木
Decomposition: ⿱乂木 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 杀 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 杀
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 谋杀verb | móu shā | to murder |
| 杀死verb | shā sǐ | to kill |
| 杀人verb | shā rén | homicide |
| 杀手noun | shā shǒu | killer |
| 杀害verb | shā hài | to murder |
| 谋杀案 | móu shā àn | murder case |
| 杀人犯noun | shā rén fàn | murderer |
| 枪杀verb | qiāng shā | to shoot dead |
| 屠杀verb | tú shā | to massacre |
| 暗杀verb | àn shā | to assassinate |
| 凶杀verb | xiōng shā | to murder |
| 杀戮verb | shā lù | to massacre |
| 谋杀罪 | móu shā zuì | murder |
| 凶杀案noun | xiōng shā àn | murder case |
| 刺杀verb | cì shā | to assassinate |
杀 appears in 102 compound words: 33 as the first character, 60 as the last, and 7 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 杀 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (21)
Use of deadly force authorized; it is permitted to kill (someone) without any legal consequence.
to get someone else to do one's dirty work; to attack someone using the strength of another
to get someone else to do one's dirty work; to attack someone using the strength of another
Use of deadly force authorized; it is permitted to kill (someone) without any legal consequence.
Showing 12 of 21 idioms containing 杀.
Example Sentences
这片森杀里生活着许多珍稀的野生动物。
zhè piān sēn shā lǐ shēng huó zhe xǔ duō zhēn xī de yě shēng dòng wù .
This forest is home to many rare and endangered wildlife species.
在汽旅毒杀2男!韩国蛇蝎美人照片曝光 IG粉丝暴涨...
zài qì lǚ dú shā 2 nán ! hán guó shé 蝎 měi rén zhào piàn pù guāng I G fěn sī bào zhǎng . . .
Poisoned 2 men in the automobile tour! Korean femme fatale photos exposed IG fans skyrocketed...
土耳其绑架案—中国商人遭撕票 传10跨海杀人同胞落网—有片
tǔ ěr qí bǎng jià àn — zhōng guó shāng rén zāo sī piào chuán 1 0 kuà hǎi shā rén tóng bāo luò wǎng — yǒu piàn
Turkey kidnapping case - Chinese businessman was torn up and 10 cross-sea murderers were arrested - there is a film
大毒枭被击杀后多地发生袭击 25名国家衞队成员殉职
dà dú 枭 bèi jī shā hòu duō dì fā shēng xí jī 2 5 míng guó jiā 衞 duì chéng yuán 殉 zhí
After the drug lord was killed, attacks broke out in many places, and 25 members of the National Guard were killed in the line of duty
墨西哥贩毒集团头目被杀引发骚乱 总统辛鲍姆指现时局势趋平静
mò xī gē fàn dú jí tuán tóu mù bèi shā yǐn fā sāo luàn zǒng tǒng xīn 鲍 mǔ zhǐ xiàn shí jú shì qū píng jìng
The killing of the leader of the Mexican drug cartel sparked riots President Simbaum said the situation is now calm
冬奥/苦等46年 美国男子冰球延长赛绝杀加拿大夺金
dōng ào kǔ děng 4 6 nián měi guó nán zǐ bīng qiú yán cháng sài jué shā jiā ná dà duó jīn
Winter Olympics/46 years of waiting, the U.S. men's ice hockey playoff defeated Canada to win gold
他因谋杀罪被绞死。
Tā yīn móushāzuì bèi jiǎosǐ.
He was hanged for murder.
我们对杀人犯感到悲愤填膺。
Wǒmen duì shārénfàn gǎndào bēifèn tián yīng.
We were filled with anger against the murderer.
与其向命运妥协，我宁可自杀。
Yǔqí xiàng mìngyùn tuǒxié, wǒ nìngkě zìshā.
I would rather kill myself than reconcile myself to my fate.
大象被猎人杀死了。
Dàxiàng bèi lièrén shāsǐ le.
The elephant was killed by the hunter.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 杀 (shā)?
Is 杀 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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