賊

See also: 戝 and 贼

賊	U+8CCA, 賊 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8CCA

← 賉
[U+8CC9]

CJK Unified Ideographs

賋 →
[U+8CCB]

Translingual

Han character

賊 (Kangxi radical 154, 貝+6, 13 strokes, cangjie input 月金戈十 (BCIJ), four-corner 6385₀, composition ⿰貝戎)

References

KangXi: page 1208, character 14

Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 36759

Dae Jaweon: page 1672, character 10

Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 6, page 3637, character 1

Unihan data for U+8CCA

Chinese

trad.		賊
simp.		贼
alternative forms		𧵪戝

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 賊
Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (則) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
廁	sʰrɯɡs, sʰrɯɡ
則	*ʔsɯːɡ
賊	*zɯːɡ
鰂	*zɯːɡ
鱡	*zɯːɡ
蠈	*zɯːɡ
側	*ʔsrɯɡ
萴	ʔsrɯɡ, zrɯɡ
測	*sʰrɯɡ
惻	*sʰrɯɡ
崱	*zrɯɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *zɯːɡ) : phonetic 則 (OC *ʔsɯːɡ) + semantic 戈 (“weapon”).

This was later reinterpreted as a compound of 貝 (“money”) and 戎 (“weapon”) to produce the modern form.

Etymology 1

Possibly Sino-Tibetan; compare Tibetan ཇག (jag, “robbery”) (Coblin, 1986). Schuessler (2007) points out that a palatalized consonant in Tibetan does not usually correspond to an unpalatalized one in Chinese; instead, he compares it to Khmer ឆក់ (chɑk, “to snatch; to steal”).

Possibly cognate with 災 (OC *ʔslɯː, “natural disaster”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Based on evidence from early loans from Chinese, e.g. Lakkia kjak⁸ (“bandit”) and Rục kəcʌ́ːk (“bandit”), Baxter and Sagart (2014) reconstructs the Old Chinese with a *k preinitial.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zéi, zé (zei², ze²)
(Zhuyin): ㄗㄟˊ, ㄗㄜˊ
(Chengdu, SP): zui² / ze²
(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): зый (zɨy, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou, Jyutping): caak⁶, caak^6-2
(Taishan, Wiktionary): tak⁵
Gan (Wiktionary): cet⁷
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): chhe̍t
(Meixian, Guangdong): cêd⁶
Jin (Wiktionary): zei¹
Min Bei (KCR): chā̤
Min Dong (BUC): chĕk
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): chha̍t / cha̍t / che̍k / chia̍k
(Teochew, Peng'im): cag⁸
Wu (Wiktionary): zeq (T5)
Xiang (Wiktionary): ce⁴ / zei⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland and Taiwan)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zéi
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄟˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zéi
  - Wade–Giles: tsei²
  - Yale: dzéi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzeir
  - Palladius: цзэй (czɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡seɪ̯³⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, literary variant)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zé
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄜˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zé
  - Wade–Giles: tsê²
  - Yale: dzé
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzer
  - Palladius: цзэ (czɛ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɤ³⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zui² / ze²
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zui / ze
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡suei²¹/, /t͡sɛ²¹/

Note:

zui2 - vernacular;
ze2 - literary.

- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: зый (zɨy, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sei²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: caak⁶, caak^6-2
  - Yale: chaahk, cháak
  - Cantonese Pinyin: tsaak⁹, tsaak^9-2
  - Guangdong Romanization: cag⁶, cag^6-2
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰaːk̚²/, /t͡sʰaːk̚²⁻³⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: tak⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tʰak̚³²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: cet⁷
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛt̚²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chhe̍t
  - Hakka Romanization System: ced
  - Hagfa Pinyim: ced⁶
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰet̚⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: cêd⁶
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡sʰɛt̚⁵/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: zei¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sei¹¹/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: chā̤
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛ⁵⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: chĕk
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɛiʔ⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chha̍t
  - Tâi-lô: tsha̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zhat
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sʰat̚⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡sʰat̚²⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sʰat̚¹²¹/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: cha̍t
  - Tâi-lô: tsa̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zat
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡sat̚¹²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sat̚²⁴/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡sat̚⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: che̍k
  - Tâi-lô: tsi̍k
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zek
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /t͡ɕiɪk̚¹²¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /t͡ɕiɪk̚⁴/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Jinjiang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chia̍k
  - Tâi-lô: tsia̍k
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ciak
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /t͡ɕiak̚²⁴/

Note:

chha̍t - vernacular;
cha̍t - vernacular (limited to 墨賊);
che̍k/chia̍k - literary.

- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: cag⁸
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsha̍k
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰak̚⁴/
Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: zeq (T5)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /z̥əʔ¹²/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: ce⁴ / zei⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɤ̞⁴⁵/, /t͡se̞i²⁴/

Note:

ce4 - vernacular;
zei6 - literary.

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 賊
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sei³⁵/
	Harbin	/t͡sei²⁴/
	Tianjin	/t͡sei⁴⁵/ /t͡sɤ⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/t͡sei⁴²/
	Qingdao	/t͡se⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡suei⁴²/ /t͡sei⁴²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sei²⁴/
	Xining	/t͡sɨ²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/t͡sei⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sei⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡sei⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/t͡sɤ²¹³/
	Chengdu	/t͡suei³¹/ /t͡se³¹/
	Guiyang	/t͡suei²¹/
	Kunming	/t͡sei³¹/
	Nanjing	/t͡suəi²⁴/ /t͡səʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/t͡se⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sei¹¹/
	Pingyao	/t͡sʌʔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/t͡sɛ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/zəʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/zəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/d͡zəʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/ze²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰe²²/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡sʰə¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sei²⁴/ /t͡sʰə⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/t͡sʰæ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰɛʔ²/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰet̚⁵/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/t͡sʰet̚⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰak̚²/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰɐk̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰak̚²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/t͡sik̚⁵/ /t͡sʰat̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/t͡sʰɛiʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/t͡sʰɛ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/t͡sʰak̚⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/sak̚³/

Middle Chinese: /d͡zək̚/

Rime
Character	賊
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	登 (131)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	昨則切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡zək̚/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡zək̚/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡zək̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡zək̚/
Li Rong	/d͡zək̚/
Wang Li	/d͡zək̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/d͡zʱək̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zé
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zak⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*k.dzˤək/
(Zhengzhang): /*zɯːɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	賊
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zéi
Middle Chinese	‹ dzok ›
Old Chinese	/*k.dzˁək/
English	injure; murderer, bandit
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	賊
Reading #	1/1
No.	16596
Phonetic component	則
Rime group	職
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	賊
Old Chinese	/*zɯːɡ/

Definitions

賊

^† to damage; to corrupt; to ruin; to destroy
^† to harm; to injure
^† to slander
^† to murder
- 宣子驟諫，公患之，使鉏麑賊之。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  宣子骤谏，公患之，使𬬺麑贼之。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE
  Xuānzǐ zhòu jiàn, Gōng huàn zhī, shǐ Chú Ní zéi zhī. [Pinyin]
  Lord Xuan remonstrated with the Duke again and again. The Duke, troubled by his behaviour, sent Chu (or "Zhu") Ni to murder him.
^† murderer
^† harm; disaster
thief; bandit; robber (Classifier: 個／个 m c)
琴日有賊入咗屋，偷走咗我部電腦。 [Cantonese, trad.]
琴日有贼入咗屋，偷走咗我部电脑。 [Cantonese, simp.]
kam⁴ jat⁶ jau⁵ caak^6-2 jap⁶ zo² uk¹, tau¹ zau² zo² ngo⁵ bou⁶ din⁶ nou⁵. [Jyutping]
Yesterday, a thief came into my house and stole my computer.
villain; traitor
^† to steal
evil; wicked; treacherous
^† to restrain
^† ruthless; vicious
(colloquial, dialectal) cunning; wily; sly
^† a kind of pest that eats the joints of a seedling
蟊賊／蟊贼 ― máozéi ― insects that eat the roots and the joints

Usage notes

Xiandai Hanyu Guifan Cidian (《现代汉语规范词典》) proscribes the use of the pronunciation zé.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 小偷 (“(petty) thief”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		賊, 盜
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		賊, 小偷, 竊賊, 盜
Mandarin	Beijing	小偷兒, 賊
	Taiwan	小偷, 賊
	Tianjin	小偷兒, 賊
	Harbin	小偷兒, 賊
	Shenyang	小偷兒
	Yantai (Muping)	小偷兒, 賊
	Jinan	小偷兒, 小偷, 毛賊, 毛賊子, 賊
	Luoyang	小偷兒, 賊
	Wanrong	毛賊, 賊娃子, 賊
	Zhengzhou	小偷兒, 賊
	Xi'an	賊娃子, 賊
	Yinchuan	賊娃子, 賊
	Lanzhou	賊娃子
	Xining	小偷兒, 賊娃子
	Ürümqi	賊娃子, 賊
	Wuhan	強徒, 小偷
	Huanggang	三隻手
	Chengdu	賊娃子, 賊, 偷跟兒, 偷兒
	Guiyang	小偷
	Kunming	小偷, 小毛賊, 毛賊, 小賊
	Guilin	小偷
	Guanyang	拐子
	Liuzhou	小偷
	Yangzhou	小偷, 賊, 強盜
	Nanjing	小偷, 賊
	Hefei	小偷, 賊, 小賊
	Nantong	賊坯
	Singapore	小偷, 賊
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	賊娃子, 賊
	Dagudi (Maliba)	賊
	Reshuitang (Longling)	賊
	Mae Salong (Lancang)	小偷, 賊
	Mae Sai (Tengchong)	賊
Cantonese	Guangzhou	賊仔, 賊, 賊佬, 鼠摸
	Hong Kong	賊仔, 賊, 賊佬, 鼠摸
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	賊仔
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	賊
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	賊佬
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	賊佬
	Macau	偷仔
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	賊仔
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	夜摸
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	賊仔
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	偷雞佬, 賊佬
	Foshan	鼠摸
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	鼠摸仔
	Foshan (Shunde)	偷仔
	Foshan (Sanshui)	鼠摸
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	鼠摸仔
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	偷仔
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	偷仔
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	三隻手
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	小摸
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	小摸
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	小摸
	Taishan	賊仔, 鼠摸
	Kaiping (Chikan)	小摸
	Enping (Niujiang)	小摸仔
	Heshan (Yayao)	鼠摸仔
	Dongguan	賊仔, 鼠摸 dated
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	賊仔
	Shaoguan	賊佬
	Yunfu	雪仔
	Yangjiang	鼠賊, 賊
	Xinyi	賊佬
	Lianjiang	賊佬, 賊仔
	Nanning	賊, 賊佬
	Wuzhou	賊佬
	Yulin	賊
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	賊, 夜摸
	Beihai	賊仔
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	白捏, 小偷
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	賊手
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	賊佬
	Danzhou	賊
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	小賊
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	賊仔
	Móng Cái	賊, 夜摸, 白捏
Gan	Nanchang	賊
	Lichuan	賊
	Pingxiang	賊牯
Hakka	Meixian	賊牯, 賊仔
	Xingning	賊牯佬
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	賊仔
	Huidong (Daling)	賊牯佬
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	賊佬
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	賊佬
	Zengcheng (Zhengguo)	賊佬
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	賊仔
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	賊哩
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	賊哩
	Wuhua (Changbu)	賊牯佬
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	賊牯佬
	Heyuan (Bendihua)	賊
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	賊佬
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	賊佬
	Liannan	賊佬
	Conghua (Lütian)	小偷
	Jiexi	賊
	Changting	賊牯
	Wuping	賊牯
	Wuping (Pingyu)	賊牯
	Liancheng	賊牯
	Ninghua	賊牯
	Yudu	賊牯
	Ruijin	賊牯
	Shicheng	賊牯
	Shangyou (Shexi)	賊佬, 強盜
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	賊仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	賊仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	賊仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	賊
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	賊仔, 賊
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	賊
	Hong Kong	賊佬
	Luchuan	賊
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	賊佬
	Sabah (Longchuan)	賊佬
	Senai (Huiyang)	扒手
	Singkawang	賊
Huizhou	Jixi	賊骨頭, 賊, 銃手
Jin	Taiyuan	小偷兒, 賊
	Pingyao	小綹兒
	Xinzhou	賊
	Hohhot	小偷, 賊, 賊小子
Min Bei	Jian'ou	賊
Min Dong	Fuzhou	賊囝, 賊
	Fuqing	賊, 賊囝
	Matsu	賊囝
Min Nan	Xiamen	賊仔, 鼠賊
	Quanzhou	賊仔, 鼠賊
	Jinjiang	鼠賊仔
	Yongchun	賊
	Zhangzhou	賊仔, 鼠賊, 佬賊仔
	Dongshan	賊仔
	Taipei	賊仔
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	賊仔
	Kaohsiung	勍仔
	Yilan	勍仔
	Changhua (Lukang)	賊仔
	Taichung	賊仔
	Tainan	賊仔
	Hsinchu	賊仔
	Kinmen	鼠賊仔
	Penghu (Magong)	賊
	Penang (Hokkien)	賊
	Singapore (Hokkien)	賊
	Manila (Hokkien)	賊, 賊仔
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	賊
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	賊
	Guilin (Biyange)	賊
	Chaozhou	鼠賊囝
	Shantou	賊, 賊囝, 鼠賊, 鼠賊囝
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	鼠賊囝
	Wenchang	賊囝
	Haikou	賊囝, 賊
Puxian Min	Putian	賊囝
Puxian Min	Xianyou	賊囝
Min Zhong	Yanping (Wangtai)	賊
Zhongshan Min	Sanxiang	賊囝
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	賊, 小偷
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	賊, 小偷
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dongbianzhou)	賊
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	賊頭
Wu	Shanghai	賊骨頭, 賊, 小偷, 賊伯伯 humorous
	Shanghai (Chongming)	小偷, 賊
	Suzhou	賊骨頭, 賊, 賊伯伯 humorous, 小賊
	Wuxi	賊骨頭, 小偷
	Danyang	小偷, 賊, 賊老官, 做賊佬
	Hangzhou	賊骨頭, 賊
	Ningbo	賊骨頭, 小偷
	Wenzhou	小偷兒, 小偷, 賊
	Jinhua	賊骨頭, 賊, 小偷
Xiang	Changsha	賊老倌, 賊牯子, 賊
	Xiangtan	夜摸子
	Loudi	賊牯子
	Shuangfeng	賊牯子
	Quanzhou	賊

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (賊):

→ Japanese: 賊(ぞく) (zoku)
→ Vietnamese: tặc (賊)

Others:

→ Proto-Southwestern Tai: *sɤkᴰ
- Thai: ศึก (sʉ̀k, “war, battle”)
→ Vietnamese: giặc

Etymology 2

Clipping of 賊拉 (zéilā), borrowed from Korean 第一 (jeil, “first; most, -est”).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): zéi (zei²)
(Zhuyin): ㄗㄟˊ

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zéi
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄟˊ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zéi
  - Wade–Giles: tsei²
  - Yale: dzéi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzeir
  - Palladius: цзэй (czɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡seɪ̯³⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 賊
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sei³⁵/
	Harbin	/t͡sei²⁴/
	Tianjin	/t͡sei⁴⁵/ /t͡sɤ⁴⁵/
	Jinan	/t͡sei⁴²/
	Qingdao	/t͡se⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡suei⁴²/ /t͡sei⁴²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sei²⁴/
	Xining	/t͡sɨ²⁴/
	Yinchuan	/t͡sei⁵³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sei⁵³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡sei⁵¹/
	Wuhan	/t͡sɤ²¹³/
	Chengdu	/t͡suei³¹/ /t͡se³¹/
	Guiyang	/t͡suei²¹/
	Kunming	/t͡sei³¹/
	Nanjing	/t͡suəi²⁴/ /t͡səʔ⁵/
	Hefei	/t͡se⁵⁵/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sei¹¹/
	Pingyao	/t͡sʌʔ⁵³/
	Hohhot	/t͡sɛ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/zəʔ¹/
	Suzhou	/zəʔ³/
	Hangzhou	/d͡zəʔ²/
	Wenzhou	/ze²¹³/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰe²²/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡sʰə¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sei²⁴/ /t͡sʰə⁵⁵/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/t͡sʰæ²⁴/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰɛʔ²/
Hakka	Meixian	/t͡sʰet̚⁵/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/t͡sʰet̚⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡sʰak̚²/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰɐk̚²²/
	Hong Kong	/t͡sʰak̚²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/t͡sik̚⁵/ /t͡sʰat̚⁵/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/t͡sʰɛiʔ⁵/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/t͡sʰɛ⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/t͡sʰak̚⁵/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/sak̚³/

Definitions

(formerly dialectal, including Northeastern Mandarin, increasingly informal) very; particularly; immensely; extremely
賊好看／贼好看 ― zéi hǎokàn ― remarkably beautiful

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 很 (“very”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		甚, 孔
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		很, 非常, 十分
Mandarin	Beijing	挺, 很, 倍兒, 怪
	Taiwan	很, 好, 非常, 超, 蠻, 超級
	Tianjin	挺, 很, 傻, 老, 倍兒, 齁兒
	Jinan	挺, 楞
	Xi'an	很
	Wuhan	蠻, 很
	Chengdu	很, 好
	Chongqing	很
	Yangzhou	蠻, 稀, 很
	Hefei	很
	Malaysia	很
	Singapore	很, 蠻, 非常
Cantonese	Guangzhou	好, 非常之
	Hong Kong	好, 非常, 非常之, 超, 勁, 十分之
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	好
	Taishan	好, 十分之
	Yangjiang	好
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	好
	Singapore (Guangfu)	好, 非常之, 非常
Gan	Nanchang	蠻
Hakka	Meixian	好, 刮, 已, 還, 異, 還 exclamation
	Huidong (Daling)	好
	Wuhua (Meilin)	好
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	頂
	Lianshan (Xiaosanjiang)	好
	Changting	野
	Wuping (Pingyu)	已, 刮
	Liancheng	樣
	Ninghua	好
	Ruijin	蠻
	Shicheng	蠻
	Shangyou (Shexi)	蠻
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	當, 已, 還
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	蓋, 盡, 還
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	當, 盡, 已, 還
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	當, 已, 還
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	當, 已, 還
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	足, 真, 實在
	Hong Kong	好
	Sabah (Bao'an)	好
	Kuching (Hepo)	很
	Singapore (Dabu)	好
Jin	Taiyuan	很, 挺
Min Bei	Jian'ou	盡
Min Dong	Fuzhou	野, 真
	Singapore (Fuqing)	真
	Manjung (Gutian)	真
Min Nan	Xiamen	真, 野, 誠, 有夠, 萬代, 死人, 非常, 真正
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	真
	Quanzhou	真, 野, 誠, 有夠, 萬代, 死人
	Jinjiang	野
	Zhangzhou	盡, 蓋, 足, 足範, 有夠, 出奇, 極死, 見死, 死了了, 死人
	Zhao'an	很, 真, 死絕, 好, 非常
	Dongshan	真, 非常
	Taipei	真, 誠
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	真, 誠
	Kaohsiung	有夠, 足, 真, 誠, 蓋
	Yilan	有夠, 足, 誠, 盡
	Changhua (Lukang)	真, 誠
	Taichung	誠, 蓋, 足
	Tainan	有夠, 足, 真, 誠, 蓋
	Hsinchu	真, 誠
	Kinmen	足, 誠
	Penghu (Magong)	真, 誠
	Penang (Hokkien)	真, 誠, 真正
	Singapore (Hokkien)	真, 死爸, 真正, 誠, 足, 有夠
	Manila (Hokkien)	野, 真, 萬代, 真正
	Chaozhou	過, 好, 非常, 死爸
	Shantou	過, 鐵, 好, 很, 死爸, 死絕
	Shantou (Chenghai)	好, 死絕
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	好, 非常
	Jieyang	過, 好, 死爸, 死絕
	Bangkok (Teochew)	好
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	好
	Singapore (Teochew)	真, 死爸, 非常
	Wenchang	極, 但顧, 真
	Haikou	但顧
	Qionghai	但顧, 真
	Singapore (Hainanese)	但顧, 真
Wu	Shanghai	蠻, 老, 邪氣, 老老, 瞎, 絕, 十分, 十二萬分, 非常, 非常之, 畢, 畢畢, 來得, 來得個, 煞, 交關, 十二分 rare, 窮 dated, 野 dated, 邪 dated
	Suzhou	蠻
	Ningbo	交關, 蠻, 堪, 𠊉好, 𠊉派, 甮派, 出格, 木牢牢 rare, 猛 rare
	Zhoushan	交關, 蠻, 猛, 堪, 出格, 木牢牢 rare
	Wenzhou	蠻, 蒙, 顯
Xiang	Changsha	很, 蠻
Xiang	Shuangfeng	蠻

Compounds

Derived terms from 賊

亂臣賊子／乱臣贼子 (luànchénzéizǐ)
作賊心虛／作贼心虚 (zuòzéixīnxū)
併贓拿賊／并赃拿贼
內賊／内贼
六賊／六贼
剽賊／剽贼
匪賊／匪贼
反賊／反贼 (fǎnzéi)
國賊／国贼 (guózéi)
大眼賊／大眼贼
失賊／失贼
奸賊／奸贼 (jiānzéi)
家賊／家贼 (jiāzéi)
家賊難防／家贼难防 (jiāzéinánfáng)
宿賊／宿贼
小毛賊／小毛贼
小賊／小贼
山賊／山贼 (shānzéi)
德賊／德贼
悍賊／悍贼
慣賊／惯贼
戕賊／戕贼 (qiāngzéi)
拿賊拿贓／拿贼拿赃
拿賊見贓／拿贼见赃
擒賊擒王／擒贼擒王 (qínzéiqínwáng)
擒賊擒首／擒贼擒首
木賊／木贼 (mùzéi)
殘賊／残贼 (cánzéi)
毛賊／毛贼 (máozéi)
民賊／民贼 (mínzéi)
水賊／水贼
海賊／海贼 (hǎizéi)
漏面賊／漏面贼
烏賊／乌贼 (wūzéi)
烏賊車／乌贼车

狂賊／狂贼
狗賊／狗贼
猾賊／猾贼
白拈賊／白拈贼
白日賊／白日贼
白賊／白贼 (báizéi)
白賊七／白贼七
盜賊／盗贼 (dàozéi)
盜賊四起／盗贼四起
盜賊蜂起／盗贼蜂起
盜馬賊／盗马贼 (dàomǎzéi)
真贓正賊／真赃正贼
破賊／破贼 (pòzéi)
禿賊／秃贼
積賊／积贼
竊賊／窃贼 (qièzéi)
老賊／老贼 (lǎozéi)
花賊／花贼
草賊／草贼 (cǎozéi)
蝥賊／蝥贼
蟊賊／蟊贼 (máozéi)
討賊／讨贼 (tǎozéi)
認賊作父／认贼作父 (rènzéizuòfù)
認賊為子／认贼为子
賊人／贼人 (zéirén)
賊人心虛／贼人心虚
賊人膽虛／贼人胆虚
賊仔星／贼仔星
賊去關門／贼去关门
賊喊捉賊／贼喊捉贼 (zéihǎnzhuōzéi)
賊子／贼子
賊子亂臣／贼子乱臣
賊害／贼害
賊寇／贼寇
賊巢／贼巢 (zéicháo)

賊店／贼店
賊心／贼心 (zéixīn)
賊性／贼性
賊星／贼星 (zéixīng)
賊曹／贼曹
賊王八／贼王八
賊皮賊骨／贼皮贼骨
賊眉鼠眼／贼眉鼠眼
賊眼／贼眼
賊禿／贼秃
賊窩子／贼窝子
賊肉／贼肉
賊臣亂子／贼臣乱子
賊臣逆子／贼臣逆子
賊船／贼船 (zéichuán)
賊虐／贼虐
賊話兒／贼话儿
賊贓／贼赃 (zéizāng)
賊頭賊腦／贼头贼脑
賊頭鼠腦／贼头鼠脑
賊首／贼首 (zéishǒu)
賊驢／贼驴
賊骨頭／贼骨头 (zéigǔtou)
賊鬼／贼鬼
賊黨／贼党 (zéidǎng)
賣國賊／卖国贼 (màiguózéi)
逆子賊臣／逆子贼臣
逆臣賊子／逆臣贼子
逆賊／逆贼 (nìzéi)
附賊／附贼
陰賊／阴贼 (yīnzé)
雅賊／雅贼
飛賊／飞贼
馬賊／马贼
鬧賊／闹贼

Japanese

Shinjitai	賊
Kyūjitai [1][2]	賊󠄁 賊+`󠄁`^? (Adobe-Japan1)
	賊󠄄 賊+`󠄄`^? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Kanji

賊

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Go-on: ぞく (zoku, Jōyō)
Kan-on: そく (soku)
Kun: あだ (ada, 賊); そこなう (sokonau, 賊なう)^{←そこなふ (sokonafu, historical)}; にしもの (nishimono, 賊); ぬすむ (nusumu, 賊む)

Compounds

賊(ぞく)魁(かい) (zokukai)
賊(ぞく)害(がい) (zokugai)
賊(ぞく)虐(ぎゃく) (zokugyaku)
賊(ぞく)軍(ぐん) (zokugun)
賊(ぞく)塞(さい) (zokusai)
賊(ぞく)砦(さい) (zokusai)
賊(ぞく)殺(さつ) (zokusatsu)
賊(ぞく)子(し) (zokushi)
賊(ぞく)首(しゅ) (zokushu)
賊(ぞく)衆(しゅう) (zokushū)
賊(ぞく)将(しょう) (zokushō)
賊(ぞく)情(じょう) (zokujō)
賊(ぞく)心(しん) (zokushin)
賊(ぞく)臣(しん) (zokushin)
賊(ぞく)勢(せい) (zokusei)
賊(ぞく)巣(そう) (zokusō)
賊(ぞく)地(ち) (zokuchi)
賊(ぞく)徒(と) (zokuto)
賊(ぞく)盗(とう) (zokutō)
賊(ぞく)党(とう) (zokutō)
賊(ぞく)難(なん) (zokunan)
賊(ぞく)匪(ひ) (zokuhi)
賊(ぞく)氛(ふん) (zokufun)
賊(ぞく)兵(へい) (zokuhei)
賊(ぞく)民(みん) (zokumin)
賊(ぞく)名(めい) (zokumei)
賊(ぞく)塁(るい) (zokurui)
賊(ぞっ)姦(かん) (zokkan)
烏賊(いか) (ika): squid, cuttlefish
陰(いん)賊(ぞく) (inzoku)
烏(う)賊(ぞく) (uzoku)
怨(おん)賊(ぞく) (onzoku)
海(かい)賊(ぞく) (kaizoku): pirate
猾(かつ)賊(ぞく) (katsuzoku)
姦(かん)賊(ぞく) (kanzoku)
義(ぎ)賊(ぞく) (gizoku)
逆(ぎゃく)賊(ぞく) (gyakuzoku)
劫(きょう)賊(ぞく) (kyōzoku)
劇(げき)賊(ぞく) (gekizoku)
険(けん)賊(ぞく) (kenzoku)
寇(こう)賊(ぞく) (kōzoku)
国(こく)賊(ぞく) (kokuzoku)
山(さん)賊(ぞく) (sanzoku)
残(ざん)賊(ぞく) (zanzoku)
夙(しゅく)賊(ぞく) (shukuzoku)
小(しょう)賊(ぞく) (shōzoku)
戕(しょう)賊(ぞく) (shōzoku)
草(そう)賊(ぞく) (sōzoku)
鼠(そ)賊(ぞく) (sozoku)
盗(とう)賊(ぞく) (tōzoku)
討(とう)賊(ぞく) (tōzoku)
馬(ば)賊(ぞく) (bazoku)
髪(はつ)賊(ぞく) (hatsuzoku)
匪(ひ)賊(ぞく) (hizoku)
詖(ひ)賊(ぞく) (hizoku)
蝥(ぼう)賊(ぞく) (bōzoku)
民(みん)賊(ぞく) (minzoku)
木(もく)賊(ぞく) (mokuzoku)
乱(らん)賊(ぞく) (ranzoku)
流(りゅう)賊(ぞく) (ryūzoku)
倭(わ)賊(ぞく) (wazoku)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
賊
ぞく Grade: S
goon

From Middle Chinese 賊 (MC d͡zək̚).

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Goon

(Tokyo) ぞく [zòkú] (Heiban – [0])[3][4]
IPA^(key): [d͡zo̞kɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

賊(ぞく) • (zoku)

thief
rebel

Derived terms

長髪賊(ちょうはつぞく) (chōhatsuzoku, “Taiping rebels”)

References

1914, 漢和大辭書 (Kanwa Dai Jisho, “The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary”) (in Japanese), page 2026 (paper), page 1065 (digital), Tōkyō: 興文社 (Kōbunsha)
1927, 新漢和辭典 (Shin Kanwa Jiten, “The New Kanji-Japanese Dictionary”) (in Japanese), page 1160 (paper), page 593 (digital), Ōsaka: 松雲堂 (Shōundō)
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 賊 (MC d͡zək̚). Recorded as Middle Korean 적〮 (cék) (Yale: cek) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Wikisource賊 (eumhun 도둑 적 (doduk jeok))

Hanja form^? of 적 (“thief”).

Compounds

도적 (盜賊, dojeok)
의적 (義賊, uijeok)
초적 (草賊, chojeok)
마적 (馬賊, majeok)
산적 (山賊, sanjeok)
역적 (逆賊, yeokjeok)
해적 (海賊, haejeok)
해적선 (海賊船, haejeokseon)
적반하장 (賊反荷杖, jeokbanhajang)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Vietnamese

Han character

賊: Hán Nôm readings: tặc, giặc

This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

[1] 1914, 漢和大辭書 (Kanwa Dai Jisho, “The Great Kanji-Japanese Dictionary”) (in Japanese), page 2026 (paper), page 1065 (digital), Tōkyō: 興文社 (Kōbunsha)

[2] 1927, 新漢和辭典 (Shin Kanwa Jiten, “The New Kanji-Japanese Dictionary”) (in Japanese), page 1160 (paper), page 593 (digital), Ōsaka: 松雲堂 (Shōundō)

[DJR-3] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-4] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN