殺 meaning and stroke order
To kill, to murder, to slaughter; to hurt
How to write 殺, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 殺
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to kill; to slay; to murder; to attack
- to weaken; to reduce
- (dialect) to smart
- (used after a verb) extremely
How 殺 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Weapon.
殳 gives the meaning and 杀 hints at the sound.
Radical: 殳 (tool), shared by 16 characters on this site.
How to remember 殺
殺 is 杀 (shā) on the left giving the sound, plus 殳 (shū) on the right, a hand holding a weapon. Picture someone raising a weapon to kill, and 杀 tells you to say shā.
殺 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, and it appears in many words like 自殺 (zìshā, suicide), 殺手 (shāshǒu, killer) and 殺毒 (shādú, to remove a computer virus). After a verb or adjective it can mean extremely, as in 笑死人 style expressions: 氣殺我了 (qì shā wǒ le) It makes me so angry.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 殺 with 設 (shè, to set up), which also has 殳 on the right but 言 on the left. Also keep the tone first tone, shā, not shà as in 大廈 (dàshà).
Common words with 殺
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 自殺 | zìshā | to kill oneself; to commit suicide | HSK 5 |
| 殺毒 | shādú | to disinfect; (computing) to destroy a computer virus | HSK 5 |
| 殺手 | shāshǒu | killer; murderer | HSK 7-9 |
| 殺害 | shāhài | to murder | HSK 7-9 |
| 屠殺 | túshā | to massacre; to slaughter | HSK 7-9 |
| 暗殺 | ànshā | to assassinate | HSK 7-9 |
| 殺死 | shāsǐ | to kill | |
| 殺人 | shārén | to kill a person; to commit murder | |
| 謀殺 | móushā | to murder; to assassinate | |
| 殺掉 | shādiào | to kill | |
| 他殺 | tāshā | homicide (law) | |
| 謀殺案 | móushā'àn | murder case | |
| 殺人犯 | shārénfàn | murderer; homicide | |
| 槍殺 | qiāngshā | to shoot dead |
Questions about 殺
How many strokes are in 殺?
殺 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 殺 mean?
殺 (shā) means to kill, to murder, to slaughter; to hurt. A common word with it is 自杀 (zìshā), meaning "to kill oneself; to commit suicide".
How do you pronounce 殺?
殺 is pronounced shā, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 殺?
The radical of 殺 is 殳, which carries the idea of "tool". Dictionaries list 殺 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 殺?
殺 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 杀, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Does 殺 always mean to literally kill someone?
No. It can mean to weaken or reduce, as in 殺價 (shājià, to haggle the price down). In games and sports slang it can also mean to defeat or crush an opponent.
What is the difference between 殺 and 殺死?
殺 alone describes the action of killing or attacking. 殺死 (shāsǐ) adds 死 to stress the result, that the target actually died.