贼 meaning and stroke order
Thief; robber; (bound form) traitor; subversive; (bound form) evil; wicked
How to write 贼, 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 贼
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- thief; robber
- (bound form) traitor; subversive
- (bound form) evil; wicked
- sly; shifty; devious
- (literary) to harm; to injure
- (coll.) extremely; insanely; damn (common in NE China and Taiwan)
How 贼 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Weapons.
戎 gives the meaning and 贝 hints at the sound.
Radical: 贝 (sea shell), shared by 63 characters on this site.
How to remember 贼
贼 (zéi) puts 贝 (bèi, shell money) next to 戎 (róng, weapons). Picture someone with weapons grabbing your money: a thief or robber.
贼 usually appears in compounds like 小偷 alternatives 窃贼 (qièzéi) and 盗贼 (dàozéi), or in insults like 卖国贼 (màiguózéi, traitor). In casual speech, especially in Northeast China and Taiwan, it also means "extremely": 这菜贼好吃 (zhè cài zéi hǎochī) This dish is insanely good.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 戊 or 戍 instead of 戎, which has a 十-like cross inside. The tone is also second tone zéi, not fourth tone zèi.
Common words with 贼
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
贼 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 贼
How many strokes are in 贼?
贼 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 贼 mean?
贼 (zéi) means thief; robber; (bound form) traitor; subversive; (bound form) evil; wicked. A common word with it is 盗贼 (dàozéi), meaning "robber".
How do you pronounce 贼?
贼 is pronounced zéi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 贼?
The radical of 贼 is 贝, which carries the idea of "sea shell". Dictionaries list 贼 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 贼?
The traditional form of 贼 is 賊. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 贼 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 贼 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 贼 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 贼 the everyday word for thief?
Not really. In daily conversation people usually say 小偷 (xiǎotōu) for a thief. 贼 sounds more formal or old-fashioned on its own, and is common in set phrases like 抓贼 (zhuāzéi) or 做贼心虚 (zuòzéi xīnxū, to have a guilty conscience).
Why does 乌贼 mean cuttlefish?
乌贼 (wūzéi) is simply the fixed name for the cuttlefish, and it has nothing to do with stealing in modern use. Learn it as a whole word.