贼 (zéi): thief

Measure Word

一个贼 gè

Jǐngchá zhuāzhù le nà ge zéi.

The police caught the thief.

Zuò zéi xīnxū.

A thief has a guilty conscience.

Tā de yǎnjīng zéi liàng.

His eyes are extremely bright.

usage

In colloquial northern Chinese, 贼 is also used as an adverb meaning 'very; extremely' (e.g., 贼好吃 = super delicious). This is informal and regional.

culture

做贼心虚 (zuò zéi xīnxū) is a common idiom meaning 'a guilty person feels nervous' — literally 'acting as a thief, the heart feels empty.'

贼 zéi