Chinese word

杀害

Pronunciation

Pinyinshā hài

Meaning

  • verbkill

Example

警方发现一人被杀害了。jǐng fāng fā xiàn yì rén bèi shā hài le

The police found that someone had been killed.

Illustration for 杀害 (kill)

More examples

嫌疑人用刀杀害了受害者。xián yí rén yòng dāo shā hài le shòu hài zhě

The suspect killed the victim with a knife.

Core concept

A harmful act directed at a person that ends that person's life.

Common phrases

  • 当场被杀害dāng chǎng bèi shā hài

    be killed on the spot

  • 用刀杀害yòng dāo shā hài

    kill with a knife

  • 残忍地杀害cán rěn dì shā hài

    kill brutally

Similar words

杀死shā sǐ: Make a person or animal die by killing it.
杀人shā rén: Take a person's life by killing them.
谋杀móu shā: Intentionally kill a person as part of a planned crime.

Definition in Chinese

用暴力或其他手段使他人死亡的行为，常用于法律或新闻语境。yòng bào lì huò qí tā shǒu duàn shǐ tā rén sǐ wáng de xíng wéi cháng yòng yú fǎ lǜ huò xīn wén yǔ jìng

Word origin

杀 (shā, "kill") + 害 (hài, "harm") joins the ideas of killing and causing harm, forming a formal word for killing another person.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this verb often sounds like news or legal language, while shorter everyday wording is more natural for ordinary events.

Other meanings

  • murderverb

Opposites

Related words

  • 杀害者shā hài zhěkillernoun

Word lists with this word