English–Chinese
“cruel” in Chinese
How to say “cruel” in Chinese
“Cruel” in Chinese is 狠 (hěn).
A cold, unyielding way of dealing with others that allows no mercy.
Example sentences with 狠
老板对犯错的员工很狠心，当场解雇了他。láo bǎn duì fàn cuò de yuán gōng hěn hěn xīn dāng chǎng jiě gù le tā
The boss was cold-hearted toward the employee who made a mistake and fired him on the spot.
Tips for using 狠
- In everyday Chinese, 对 (duì, "toward") can mark the person who receives this treatment, making the word useful for describing how someone acts toward a particular person.
Other Chinese words for “cruel”
别对孩子那么冷酷，他们还小。bié duì hái zi nà me lěng kù tā men hái xiǎo
Don't be so cruel to the children; they're still young.
他比以前更凶残，令人害怕。tā bǐ yǐ qián gèng xiōng cán lìng rén hài pà
He is even crueler than before, which is frightening.
他对待犯人很凶狠，一点也不留情。tā duì dài fàn rén hěn xiōng hěn yì diǎn yě bù liú qíng
He treats the criminal very cruelly and shows no mercy.
你觉得他残忍吗？nǐ jué de tā cán rěn ma
Do you think he is cruel?
他的决定太残酷，我难以接受。tā de jué dìng tài cán kù wǒ nán yǐ jiē shòu
His decision is so cruel that I can hardly accept it.