枭雄

梟雄
xiāoxióng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 ruthless and ambitious leader
  2. 2 hero-villain

Examples

HSK 5
Lìshǐ shàng, hěnduō rén bǎ Cáo Cāo kànzuò yídài xiāoxióng.
Through history, many have seen Cao Cao as the great ruthless strongman of his age.
HSK 7-9
Zhè bù jù jiǎng de shì yí ge luànshì xiāoxióng cóng qǐbīng dào chēngdì de gùshi.
The drama tells the story of a strongman of troubled times, from raising his army to proclaiming himself emperor.

Tips

usage
Neither plain praise nor plain blame: a 枭雄 is bold, able and ambitious, but ruthless. 枭 is the owl, in old lore a bird that ate its own mother, which gives the word its edge of menace. Compare 英雄 'hero'.

Stroke Order

枭 xiāo
雄 xióng