弒

A specialized term for the killing of a sovereign or parent—specifically those to whom the killer owes absolute loyalty or filial piety. It denotes a violation of fundamental hierarchy rather than general homicide.

Transitive verb. Because the semantic range is so specific, the object is frequently omitted when the context of a superior has already been established; the glyph itself signals the nature of the victim.

Unlike 殺 (general killing), this glyph frames the act as a rupture of social and filial duty, carrying an inherent moral judgment of treason or unfiliality. It describes only "bottom-up" killing; it is not used for executions ordered by a superior or for killings between equals.

Interchangeable with 弑, which is more frequently encountered in the classical corpus.