How to Write 诛 (zhū) — Meaning “to execute; to punish”

Imagine a judge (讠, speech) declaring a criminal guilty, and the criminal's face turns red (朱 means red) with shame. This visual of "speech turning someone red" helps you associate the character with punishment and execution.

Write the left radical 讠 first with exactly two strokes: a dot and a horizontal-turning stroke. Then write 朱 on the right: start with a short horizontal, then a vertical line, two more horizontals, and a small bottom horizontal. A common mistake is using three strokes for the radical, but simplified 讠 is always two strokes.

讲 (jiǎng) means "to speak" and uses 井 (well) on the right, while 诛 uses 朱. 讳 (huì) means "to avoid" and has 韦 (leather) on the right. Unlike 讲 and 讳, 诛 carries a strong meaning of punishment, execution, or moral condemnation.

诛 is a formal literary character, rarely used in everyday speech. It appears in words like 诛心 (exposing hidden motives) and 伏诛 (to be executed for a crime). Culturally, it implies righteous or just punishment, often found in historical or legal writings.

Common words containing 诛 include: 诛心 (zhū xīn) — to expose someone's hidden motives; 伏诛 (fú zhū) — To be executed for a crime (simplified); 诛求 (zhū qiú) — to make excessive demands; to extort.