毒

dú

poison, venom; poisonous; cruel or malevolent

Meaning

  • Biological: Poison, venom, or any toxin (without distinction between plant and animal origins).
  • Moral/Behavioral: Moral malignity when applied to people, intent, words, or policies; can be rendered as cruel, vicious, malevolent, or harsh.

Grammar and usage

  • Noun: The substance itself (poison/venom).
  • Adjective: Describing a substance as poisonous, or a person/action as cruel.
  • Verb: To poison; to intoxicate or overwhelm a system with a potent agent.

Distinctions

  • In medical and pharmacological contexts, toxicity (毒) and medicinal efficacy (藥) may be viewed as points on the same spectrum; a substance's potency is what allows it to function as either a poison or an effective medicine depending on the dose.

History and forms

  • Fanqie reading: 徒沃
  • Tang-period reading: dhok

Decontextualized translator aid. This page describes plausible lexical range; it does not choose what the glyph means in a particular passage.