Taxonomy of meanings for 賊:　　

  • 賊 zéi (OC: sɡɯɯɡ MC: dzək) 昨則切 入 廣韻：【盜也説文作賊則也昨則切七 】
    • DESTROY
      • ntpost-Ndestroyer (with genitivus objectivus), villain against 國之賊也
      • vtoNruin, damage irrecoverably; pervert and ruin; inflict serious harm on
      • vtoNreflexive.自seriously impair (oneself)
      • vtadNN=objdamaged N; crippled NDS
      • nabpost-NN=subjectdestructive effect caused by N; N's destructive forceDS
      • partly>DAMAGE
        • nabactthat which damages something irrecoverably; villainy
        • vtoNdamage and ruin, harm; try to harm viciously; do villainous harm to
        • vt+prep+Ndo serious damage toCH
        • abstract: by fraud>CHEAT
            • specifically>STEAL
              • vtoNsteal
              • vtoNsteal things fromCH
              • exocentric: agent>THIEF
                • n{PRED}be a thief
          • resultative>DISASTER
            • nman-made calamity ?????
          • action: specific>MURDER
            • nagenthired murderer; person who was hired as murderer
            • nabactmurderous attack against a person
            • vtoNmurder as hired murderer; kill secretly; to launch an indirect murderous attack against
            • feature>CRUEL
                • exocentric>VILLAIN
                  • n.redvocativevillain, villain!; thief, thief!
                  • nbandit; villain, thief, thug, malefactor; bandit; guilty person, culprit
                  • nvocative(you) scoundrel, villain, thief!
                  • nabactvillainy; chicanery
                  • vadNgiven to villainy
                  • viactact like a scoundrel; be villainous, commit acts of villainy
                  • nnonreferentialgeneric: scoundrel; the bandit, thiefCH
                  • npostNN's malefactor, the one who does N harmLZ
                  • nadVreference=objectscope object: like a thiefCH
                  • vtoNputativeto deem N a malefactor or scoundrelLZ
                  • vtoNbe considered a malefactor or scoundrelLZ
                • morally>WICKED
                    • declarative>SLANDER
                      • skillfully>CRAFTY
                        • politically>ENEMY
                          • npost-Nenemy; mortal enemy; malefactor
                          • ntfigurativeforce destructive of, "mortal enemy of"
                          • npost=Nprenemy Npr; the Npr banditsDS
                          • ntmassenemy as massive forceDS
                          • ntpluralenemiesDS
              • late: grammaticalised>INTENSELY
              • zéiGUILTY
                • v[adN]the culprits; the guilty personsCH

              Additional information about 賊

              說文解字:

                Criteria
              • MURDER

                1. The standard word for murder is the same as the general word for killing, shā 殺.

                2. Shì 弒 refers to assassination of a ruler, and always with negative connotations (the justified killing of a ruler would still be shā 殺 ).

                3. Cì 刺 is to stab and thereby kill.

                4. Zéi 賊 refers to an arranged murder, often through a hired assassin.

                5. Zhèn 鴆 is to kill with poison.

              • THIEF

                1. The standard word for a professional or at least specialised thief is dào 盜. Dà dào 大盜 is a notorious professional thief, jù dào 巨盜 is a professional large scale robber.

                2. Zéi 賊 refers to a bandit or a villain who can be hired to commit crimes, and his villainy often consists in hired murder. It may or may not consist in robbery. See VILLAIN.

                3. Qiè 竊 is occasionally used to refer to a petty thief.

              • ENEMY

                1. The general word for an enemy or opponent of any kind is dí 敵 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") which can also often refer to mere competitors or adversaries.

                2. Kòu 寇 is an enemy of the state, often a foreigner.

                3. Chóu 讎 (ant. yǒu 友 "friend") emphasises the intense emotional nature of the conflict between the enemies concerned.

                4. Qiú 仇 "fiend" (ant. qīn 親 "someone close to one") refers to a mortal enemy with whom one has a serious feud.

                5. Lǔ 虜 is originally a foreign enemy who deserves to be taken prisoner, but the term comes to be used quite generally for an enemy of the state in Han times.

                6. Zéi 賊 emphasises the moral turpitude and decrepitude or the villainy of the enemy.

              • DESTROY

                1. The current general word for destruction of any kind is huǐ 毀, and what is destroyed may anything from a toy or a house to a state.

                2. Miè 滅 refers to the physical destruction of cities or states, and the word implies the use of external military force, and typically military resistance.

                3. Pò 破 is always violent destruction of concrete objects of any kind.

                4. Cán 殘 focusses on the reckless attitude shown by the destroyer.

                5. Yāng 殃 focusses on the disaster constituted by destruction, and this word is used mostly nominally.

                6. Suì 碎 focusses on complete smashing into small pieces of what is destroyed.

                7. Huài 壞 and huī 墮 / 隳 are "to be destroyed, to collapse" but the words are also used transitively "cause to be destroyed, cause to collapse".

                8. Wáng 亡 (ant. fù 復 "reestablish") refers to the political/social ruin of a state and does not focus on any form of physical annihilation or damage.

                9. Bài 敗 and zéi 賊 are currently used for the destruction of abstract things such as dé 德 "virtue".

              • GUILT

                1. The dominant standard general word for any kind of guilt, large or small, is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), but this does not refer to any feelings of guilt; the general term for feelings of guilt is jiù 疚 REGRET.

                2. Qiān 愆, (sometimes written qiān 騫 ) refers to slight guilt or responsibility for a mistake.

                3. Yóu 尤 refers to the blame one suffers for a misdeed.

                For zéi 賊, a dramatic derogatory term referring to abject villainy, see VILLAIN.

              • DAMAGE

                1. By far the commonest general word for damage is hài 害 (ant. lì 利 "benefit").

                2. Shāng 傷 "impair" and sǔn 損 "reduce and impair" (all ant. yì 益 "strengthen") are weaker than hài 害 and definitely suggest the survival of what is impaired.

                3. Zéi 賊 is stronger than hài 害 and definitely suggests that the damage done is serious indeed - possibly fatal.

              • VILLAIN

                1. The most general and comprehensive term for a villain is zéi 賊, and the basic association is with the damage he does. There is no special association with murder or thievery.

                2. Kòu 寇 refers to thugs and robbers, particularly enemies of the state.

                3. Dào 盜 refers to thieves or the more ordinary kind, and burglars, and the basic association is with the property he romoves. Note that Dào Zhí 盜跖 is something of a euphemism, since this gentleman was an arch-villain of great dimension.

                4. Yì 役 is occasionally used for a scoundrel.

                Word relations
              • Epithet: (VILLAIN)蟊/DAMAGE
              • Contrast: (VILLAIN)姦/WICKED Jiān 姦 (ant. liáng 良 "of the good sort, decent") refers to sheer human depravity and moral incompetence with no supernatural or sinister overtones.
              • Assoc: (DAMAGE)害/DAMAGE By far the commonest general word for damage is hài 害 (ant. lì 利"benefit").
              • Assoc: (DESTROY)殘/DESTROY Cán 殘 focusses on the reckless attitude shown by the destroyer.
              • Assoc: (THIEF)盜/THIEF The standard word for a professional or at least specialised thief is dào 盜. Dà dào 大盜 is a notorious professional thief, jù dào 巨盜 is a professional large scale robber.
              • Assoc: (VILLAIN)盜/THIEF The standard word for a professional or at least specialised thief is dào 盜. Dà dào 大盜 is a notorious professional thief, jù dào 巨盜 is a professional large scale robber.
              • Synon: (VILLAIN)虎/VILLAIN