Definition

1. Verb:
   • To kill, to slay, to murder: The primary meaning of "hạ sát" is to cause the death of a person, often deliberately and with intent. It carries a formal, literary, or legal tone and is frequently used in contexts of assassination, execution, or premeditated killing.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Kẻ phản bội đã bị hạ sát ngay tại chỗ. (The traitor was killed on the spot.)
  • Âm mưu hạ sát nhà lãnh đạo đã bị phát hiện. (The plot to assassinate the leader was discovered.)
  • Hắn bị kết tội hạ sát ba người. (He was convicted of murdering three people.)

Advanced Usage

• The term "hạ sát" is often found in written texts, such as news reports, legal documents, historical accounts, and literature. It is less common in casual, everyday speech, where words like "giết" are more typical.
• It implies a decisive, often violent, act of ending a life and can connote a sense of finality or a strategic elimination.

Variants and Related Words

• Ám sát (v): to assassinate, emphasizing a secret or surprise murder, often for political motives.
  • Tổng thống may mắn thoát khỏi một vụ ám sát. (The president narrowly escaped an assassination.)
• Giết (v): to kill. This is the most common, general, and neutral verb for causing death.
  • Không được giết người. (Thou shalt not kill.)
• Thủ tiêu (v): to liquidate, to eliminate; often used in the context of removing an enemy or opponent.
  • Băng đảng đó thủ tiêu tất cả nhân chứng. (That gang liquidated all the witnesses.)

Synonyms

• Assassinate: to murder (a prominent person) by sudden or secret attack.
• Slay: to kill violently or in great numbers (literary).
• Murder: the unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Hạ sát tướng địch: to slay/capture the enemy general. This phrase is used in both literal military contexts and figuratively in games like chess or competitive situations.
  • Chiến lược của họ là tập trung hạ sát tướng địch. (Their strategy was to focus on slaying the enemy commander.)

1. Kill