暴 bào — sudden; violent; cruel; to show or expose; to injure
昨晚下了一场暴雨。Zuó wǎn xià le yì chǎng bào yǔ.Last night there was a rainstorm.
Common words: 暴雨 (bào yǔ)、暴力 (bào lì)、暴露 (bào lù)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "cruel"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "cruel", including 暴 (bào), 残 (cán), 惨 (cǎn). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "cruel" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 暴 (bào), 残 (cán), 惨 (cǎn) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span bào, cán, cǎn — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 暴 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 暴 bàosudden; violent; cruel; to show or expose; to injureUseful words: 暴雨, 暴力
- 残 cándestroy; spoil; ruin; injure; cruel; oppressiveUseful words: 残疾, 残酷
- 惨 cǎnmiserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; seriously; badlyUseful words: 悲惨, 惨重
Common words for these 3 "cruel" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 暴 (bào) — so "cruel" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
暴雨bào yǔtorrential rain; rainstorm暴力bào lìviolence; force; violent暴露bào lùto expose; to reveal; to lay bare残疾cán jídisabled; handicapped; deformity on a person or animal残酷cán kùcruel; harsh; merciless残忍cán rěncruel; merciless; ruthless悲惨bēi cǎnmiserable; tragic惨重cǎn zhòngdisastrous惨痛cǎn tòngbitter; painful; deeply distressed
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "cruel".
残 cán — destroy; spoil; ruin; injure; cruel; oppressive
这本旧书已经残缺不全了。Zhè běn jiù shū yǐ jīng cán quē bù quán le.This old book is already incomplete.
Common words: 残疾 (cán jí)、残酷 (cán kù)、残忍 (cán rěn)
惨 cǎn — miserable; wretched; cruel; inhuman; seriously; badly
这场车祸十分惨重。Zhè chǎng chē huò shí fēn cǎn zhòng.This car accident was very tragic.
Common words: 悲惨 (bēi cǎn)、惨重 (cǎn zhòng)、惨痛 (cǎn tòng)
All 3 characters
Open 暴、残、惨 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.