纣 (Zhòu) · King Zhou, the last tyrant ruler of the Shang dynasty

Meanings

1 King Zhou, the last tyrant ruler of the Shang dynasty
2 crupper (a harness strap under a horse's tail)

Characters

纣

zhòu

King Zhou; crupper strap

Examples

HSK 7-9

纣王残暴，失了天下。

Zhòuwáng cánbào, shī le tiānxià.

King Zhou was cruel and lost the realm.

HSK 7-9

人们用助纣为虐形容帮坏人作恶。

Rénmen yòng zhùzhòu-wéinüè xíngróng bāng huàirén zuòè.

People say 'to help the tyrant Zhou do evil' for aiding a wrongdoer.

Tips

culture

纣 is the posthumous, deliberately insulting name of the last Shang king 纣王, a byword for a cruel despot. The idiom 助纣为虐 means to abet a tyrant in doing evil. The original word sense was a horse-harness strap, which is why the name was chosen as a slur.