King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “devastating”

厉害
lì hai
Traditional: 厲害
(used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough; (of an animal) fierce; (of a resemblance) striking

The closest CC-CEDICT match for devastating is 厉害 (lì hai), defined as: (used to describe sb or sth that makes a very strong impression, whether favorable or unfavorable) terrible; intense; severe; devastating; amazing; awesome; outstanding; (of a person) stern; strict; harsh; shrewd; tough; (of an animal) fierce; (of a resemblance) striking; (of liquor or chili pepper) strong; (of bacteria) virulent.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

厉 lì
whetstone; to grind, to sharpen, to whet
radical 27 ⼚ · 5 strokes
害 hai
to injure, to harm; to destroy, to kill
radical 40 ⼧ · 10 strokes

Traditional forms

Other Chinese words for “devastating”

WordPinyinMeaning
毁灭性 (毀滅性)huǐ miè xìngdestructive; devastating

Related words

Other words that share a character with 厉害.

WordPinyinMeaning
严厉 (嚴厲)yán lìsevere; strict
再接再厉 (再接再厲)zài jiē zài lìto continue the struggle (idiom); to persist; unremitting efforts
变本加厉 (變本加厲)biàn běn jiā lìlit. change to more severe (idiom); to become more intense (esp. of shortcoming); to aggravate
严厉批评 (嚴厲批評)yán lì pī píngto criticize severely; to slate
凌厉 (凌厲)líng lìswift and fierce; fierce
伤害 (傷害)shāng hàito injure; to harm
害怕hài pàto be afraid; to be scared
受害者shòu hài zhěcasualty; victim

See also: Japanese symbol for “devastating”.

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

Last posts

  1. Best Hand Protectors for Kali Drills by Training Intensity
  2. Choosing Stick Sparring Gloves for Maximum Protection
  3. Buying Arnis Competition Sticks Best Picks for Match Play
  4. Best Heavy Training Sticks for Forearm Strength and Grip
  5. Best Escrima Sticks for Tire and Bag Training
  6. Are Polypropylene Escrima Sticks Durable for Hard Contact
  7. How Much Should Escrima Sticks Cost for Training
  8. Why Rattan Splinters and How to Tape It for Repairs
  9. Best Escrima Stick Bags for Durable Gear Protection
  10. Buying Fire-Hardened Rattan Sticks for Martial Arts