杀
shā · HSK 5
killing
⚔️ sounds like 'shah' — the killing blow in chess
杀 means kill or fight at close quarters. The pinyin shā echoes 'shah' (check in chess from Persian) and the English 'slay' starts with the same sh- sound, both tied to combat.
杀 — 刂 knife radical + 朩 phonetic
杀 (shā) means 'to kill.' The traditional form 殺 shows a hand wielding a weapon (殳) beside a phonetic element. The simplified form keeps a reduced phonetic 朩 over 朩, with the knife radical 刂 originally implied through the weapon component, signaling violent action.