残忍

• Pinyin: cán rěn
• Hanzi breakdown: 残 = 歹 (evil/damaged) + 戋 (phonetic); 忍 = 刃 (blade) + 心 (heart) — a blade poised over a heart, implying suppressed feeling and hardheartedness

Meaning

Cruel; ruthless; brutal. Describes a person, act, or situation that inflicts severe pain or harm without mercy or remorse.

A strong, morally charged term used to condemn individuals, behaviors, or systems. 残忍 implies a deliberate willingness to inflict suffering and a hardened absence of compassion. Slightly stronger than 狠心 (heartless) and far more severe than 严厉 (strict). Often used in discussions of crime, war, historical atrocities, and moral judgment. In casual speech, young people occasionally use it hyperbolically (这题太残忍了), but in formal contexts it retains its serious weight.

Examples

1. 法庭以手段残忍、情节恶劣为由，对这名连环案犯判处了最高刑罚。 The court handed down the maximum sentence to this serial offender on the grounds of brutal methods and aggravating circumstances.
2. 战争的残忍不只在于生命的消逝，更在于它对人性和道德的系统性摧毁。 The cruelty of war lies not only in the loss of lives, but in its systematic destruction of human nature and morality.
3. 她在纪录片中详述了那些以科学为名实施的残忍实验，引发了观众的强烈反思。 In the documentary she described in detail those cruel experiments conducted under the guise of science, provoking intense reflection among viewers.

Usage Guide

Context: law, history, ethics, crime, society

Tone: condemning

Do Say

• 这种对待动物的方式太残忍了，令人无法接受。(This way of treating animals is far too cruel and simply unacceptable.)
• 历史上不乏以残忍手段维持统治的暴君，而他们的下场无一例外都是覆灭。(History is full of tyrants who maintained power through brutal means, and without exception they all met their downfall.)

Don't Say

• 这道数学题真的太残忍了。(While hyperbolically used in casual speech by younger speakers, in formal or standard contexts 残忍 should be reserved for actual cruelty — use 太难了 or 太变态了 for difficult problems)

Origin & History

残 (to harm/damage) + 忍 (to endure/suppress; 忍 = 刃 blade + 心 heart — a blade hovering over the heart). The compound suggests one who inflicts harm with a heart hardened like steel, impervious to others' suffering.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal