Skip to content

宰

zǎi
HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Common

Sign in to save this word to your study lists.

Definitions

  1. 1. to slaughter; to butcher; to kill (animals etc)
  2. 2. (coll.) to fleece; to rip off; to overcharge
  3. 3. (bound form) to govern; to rule
  4. 4. (bound form) (a title for certain government officials in ancient China)

Character focus

Stroke order

10 strokes

Word relationships

Related words

3 items
屠
tú

to slaughter (animals for food)

also means slaughter, often used in compounds
砍
kǎn

to chop

to chop or hack, not necessarily killing
割
gē

to cut

to cut, often used for meat preparation

Usage notes

Common mistakes

Do not use 宰 for killing people; use 杀 instead.

Example Sentences

1 shown
他 宰 了一只鸡。
He slaughtered a chicken.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 宰

主宰
zhǔ zǎi

to dominate

任人宰割
rèn rén zǎi gē

to get trampled on (idiom)

主宰者
zhǔ zǎi zhě

ruler

宰了
zǎi le

(coll.) (typically used hyperbolically) to kill (sb)

宰予
zǎi yú

Zai Yu (522-458 BC), disciple of Confucius

宰予昼寝
zǎi yǔ zhòu qǐn

Zai Yu sleeps by day (idiom); refers to story in Analects of Confucius remonstrating bitterly with his student for sleeping during lectures

宰人
zǎi rén

to overcharge

宰制
zǎi zhì

to rule

宰割
zǎi gē

to slaughter

宰客
zǎi kè

to cheat customers

宰杀
zǎi shā

to slaughter (an animal for meat)

宰牲节
zǎi shēng jié

see 古爾邦節|古尔邦节[gǔ ěr bāng jié]

宰相
zǎi xiàng

prime minister (in feudal China)

屠宰
tú zǎi

to slaughter

屠宰场
tú zǎi chǎng

slaughterhouse

巴宰族
bā zǎi zú

Pazeh, one of the indigenous peoples of Taiwan

挨宰
ái zǎi

to get ripped off

杀牛宰羊
shā niú zǎi yáng

slaughter the cattle and butcher the sheep

杀猪宰羊
shā zhū zǎi yáng

to kill the pigs and slaughter the sheep (idiom)

杀鸡宰鹅
shā jī zǎi é

kill the chickens and butcher the geese (idiom)

铁血宰相
tiě xuè zǎi xiàng

Iron Chancellor, refers to Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), Prussian politician, minister-president of Prussia 1862-1873, Chancellor of Germany 1871-1890