ENESFRDE中文

Characters, words, pinyin or English

贼 zéi thief

thief; traitor; robber

How to remember 贼: 贝 sea shell + 戎 weapons = thief. A man grabs the priciest sea shell from the beach stall and waves two plastic weapons at the seller, the silliest thief in town.

  • HSK 9
  • 10 strokes
  • Radical 贝

Component breakdown

贼 = 贝 sea shell + 戎 weapons

  • 贝 sea shell
  • 戎 weapons
The Gushi story

A man grabs the priciest sea shell from the beach stall and waves two plastic weapons at the seller, the silliest thief in town.

How it is used

  • A thief/traitor, and colloquially 'darn/really' - 小偷小贼 petty thieves, 盗贼 (dàozéi) robbers, 贼喊捉贼 (zéihǎn-zhuōzéi), the thief crying 'stop thief', means to divert blame onto others.
  • 做贼心虚 (zuòzéi-xīnxū) means a guilty conscience betrays itself. As a northern intensifier: 贼好 (zéi hǎo) really great, 贼冷 (zéi lěng) freezing cold.