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五马分尸

wǔ mǎ fēn shīdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
(idiom) to tear off sb's four limbs and head using five horse-drawn carts (historical form of capital punishment) / (fig.) to tear apart / to utterly destroy / to brutally dismember
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-a62776d664134234. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

五馬分屍 五马分尸 [wu3 ma3 fen1 shi1] /(idiom) to tear off sb's four limbs and head using five horse-drawn carts (historical form of capital punishment); (fig.) to tear apart; to utterly destroy; to brutally dismember/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 五馬分屍

  • 五
    wǔ

    five / 5

  • 马
    mǎ

    horse / CL:匹[pǐ] / horse or cavalry piece in Chinese chess / knight in Western chess

    Mǎ

    surname Ma / abbr. for Malaysia 馬來西亞|马来西亚[Mǎ lái xī yà]

  • 分
    fēn

    to divide / to separate / to distribute / to allocate / to distinguish (good and bad) / (bound form) branch of (an organization) / sub- (as in 分局[fēn jú]) / fraction / one tenth (of certain units) / unit of length equivalent to 0.33 cm / minute (unit of time) / minute (angular measurement unit) / a point (in sports or games) / 0.01 yuan (unit of money)

    fèn

    part / share / ingredient / component

  • 尸
    shī

    (literary) person representing the deceased (during burial ceremonies) / (literary) to put a corpse on display (after execution) / (bound form) corpse

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.