宰 (zǎi): to slaughter, to butcher, to kill (animals etc), (coll.) to fleece, to rip off, to overcharge, (bound form) to govern, to rule
宰 (zǎi) is a Chinese character meaning “to slaughter.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 宀 (structural) and 辛 (structural). It ranks #2046 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 宰 a barracks 宀 where slaves 辛 live. Its radical form 宀 (roof) appears in many related characters such as 客 (kè, guest, customer), 家 (jiā, home, family), 它 (tā, it).
Definitions
- to slaughter
- to butcher
- to kill (animals etc)
- (coll.) to fleece
- to rip off
- to overcharge
- (bound form) to govern
- to rule
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA barracks 宀 where slaves 辛 live
Decomposition: ⿱宀辛 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 宰 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 主宰 | zhǔ zǎi | to dominate |
| 屠宰场 | tú zǎi chǎng | slaughterhouse |
| 屠宰 | tú zǎi | to slaughter |
| 任人宰割 | rèn rén zǎi gē | to get trampled on (idiom) |
| 宰杀 | zǎi shā | to slaughter (an animal for meat) |
| 宰割 | zǎi gē | to slaughter |
| 宰相 | zǎi xiàng | prime minister (in feudal China) |
| 主宰者 | zhǔ zǎi zhě | ruler |
| 铁血宰相 | tiě xuè zǎi xiàng | Iron Chancellor, refers to Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), Prussian politician, minister-president of Prussia 1862-187... |
| 宰了 | zǎi le | (coll.) (typically used hyperbolically) to kill (sb) |
| 宰人 | zǎi rén | to overcharge |
| 巴宰族 | bā zǎi zú | Pazeh, one of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan |
| 宰制 | zǎi zhì | to rule |
| 杀牛宰羊 | shā niú zǎi yáng | slaughter the cattle and butcher the sheep |
| 宰客 | zǎi kè | to cheat customers |
宰 appears in 21 compound words: 48 as the first character, 14 as the last, and 38 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 宰 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Showing 1 of 2 idioms containing 宰.
Example Sentences
宰字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
zǎi zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "宰" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
...再砍11分!尼克后卫好神 145:113宰巫师
. . . zài kǎn 1 1 fēn ! ní kè hòu wèi hǎo shén 1 4 5 : 1 1 3 zǎi wū shī
...Another 11 points! The Knicks' guard was on fire as they crushed the Wizards 145-113
北上注意—黑猪肉被揭4个月前屠宰 深圳山姆涉急冻肉当冰鲜出售
běi shàng zhù yì — hēi zhū ròu bèi jiē 4 gè yuè qián tú zǎi shēn 圳 shān mǔ shè jí dòng ròu dāng bīng xiān chū shòu
Beijing and Shenzhen Residents Take Note—Black Pork Found to Have Been Slaughtered Four Months Ago; Shenzhen Sam's Club Accused of Selling Frozen Meat as Fresh
...光!厨余蒸煮超敷衍...疫情爆发继续送屠宰场
. . . guāng ! chú yú zhēng zhǔ chāo fū yǎn . . . yì qíng bào fā jì xù sòng tú zǎi chǎng
... Light! Cooking of kitchen waste is super perfunctory... The outbreak continues to be sent to the slaughterhouse
四处宰肥羊...北市机车道路救援2公里被索价4...
sì chǔ zǎi féi yáng . . . běi shì jī chē dào lù jiù yuán 2 gōng lǐ bèi suǒ jià 4 . . .
Slaughter fat sheep everywhere... Beishi locomotive roadside assistance 2 kilometers was charged 4...
...点、森下翔太开轰4打点 日本队首场实战痛宰软银
. . . diǎn , sēn xià xiáng tài kāi hōng 4 dǎ diǎn rì běn duì shǒu chǎng shí zhàn tòng zǎi ruǎn yín
... Point, Shota Morishita hit 4 RBIs The Japanese team's first actual game slaughtered SoftBank
每个人都应该是自己命运的主宰。
Měigerén dōu yīnggāi shì zìjǐ mìngyùn de zhǔzǎi.
Everyone ought to be a master of his own destiny.
羊羔通常在一岁前被宰杀吃掉。
Yánggāo tōngcháng zài yī suì qián bèi zǎishā chīdiào.
Lambs are usually killed before they are one year old and eaten by humans.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 宰 (zǎi) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 宰 have?
What is the radical of 宰?
What are the components of 宰?
What are common words containing 宰?
What characters sound the same as 宰 (zǎi)?
Is 宰 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 宰 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.