Chinese word

杀手

Pronunciation

Pinyinshā shǒu

Meaning

  • nounmurderer

Example

杀手被判了死刑。shā shǒu bèi pàn le sǐ xíng

The murderer was sentenced to death.

Illustration for 杀手 (murderer)

More examples

连环杀手的案件引起了社会恐慌。lián huán shā shǒu de àn jiàn yín qǐ le shè huì kǒng huāng

The serial killer's case caused public panic.

Core concept

A person who turns killing into a deliberate task, from a violent offender to a hired or covert agent.

Common phrases

  • 连环杀手lián huán shā shǒu

    serial killer

  • 职业杀手zhí yè shā shǒu

    professional killer

  • 雇佣杀手gù yōng shā shǒu

    hired killer

Similar words

杀人犯shā rén fàn: A criminal who has killed another person.
凶手xiōng shǒu: The person responsible for killing someone in a particular incident.
刺客cì kè: A person who secretly targets a specific person to carry out a killing.

Definition in Chinese

指以杀人为目的的行为主体，既可指实施暴力犯罪的凶手，也可指受雇或秘密执行暗杀任务的杀手。zhǐ yǐ shā rén wéi mù dì de xíng wéi zhú tǐ jì kě zhǐ shí shī bào lì fàn zuì de xiōng shǒu yě kě zhǐ shòu gù huò mì mì zhí xíng àn shā rèn wù de shā shǒu

Word origin

杀 (shā, "kill") + 手 (shǒu, "agent") forms a compound for a person who carries out the act of killing.

Usage tips

  • In everyday Chinese, 杀手 (shāshǒu, "murderer") is not a natural casual label for someone who excels at a job, unlike the English praise "a killer"; the Chinese word keeps its crime-related meaning.

Other meanings

  • hitmannoun
  • assassinnoun

Opposites

  • 受害者shòu hài zhěvictimnoun

Related words

  • 杀手锏shā shóu jiǎntrump cardnoun

Word lists with this word