How to Write 殄 (tiǎn) — Meaning “to exterminate; to destroy”

Imagine a bad (歹) person (人) with three knife marks (彡) destroying everything around them. This image links the radical for death with the idea of total extermination.

Write the left radical 歹 first with four strokes, keeping it narrow. Then write the right part 㐱: start with the person radical 人, then add three downward strokes (彡) - do not confuse the order or make the right side too tall.

While all three relate to death or destruction, 殄 focuses on wasting or exhausting resources (as in 暴殄天物). 歼 (jiān) means to annihilate enemies (often used in military terms), and 殁 (mò) simply means to die or pass away, with no sense of active destruction.

It appears mainly in the idiom 暴殄天物 (bào tiǎn tiān wù), meaning to recklessly waste nature's bounty. It is also found in formal or literary writing like 殄灭 (exterminate) and is rarely used in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 殄 include: 暴殄天物 (bào tiǎn tiān wù) — to waste things recklessly; to waste natural resources; 殄灭 (tiǎn miè) — to annihilate; to exterminate; 殄尽 (tiǎn jǐn) — to completely destroy.