Chinese symbol for “torture”
折磨
zhé mó
to torment; to torture
The closest CC-CEDICT match for torture is 折磨 (zhé mó), defined as: to torment; to torture.
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
Other Chinese words for “torture”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 严刑拷打 (嚴刑拷打) | yán xíng kǎo dǎ | torture; interrogation by torture |
| 酷刑 | kù xíng | cruelty; torture |
| 苦刑 | kǔ xíng | torture; corporal punishment (traditionally involving mutilation or amputation) |
| 毒刑 | dú xíng | torture; cruel corporal punishment |
| 磨折 | mó zhé | to torture; to torment |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 折磨.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 挫折 | cuò zhé | setback; reverse |
| 折腾 (折騰) | zhē teng | to toss from side to side (e.g. sleeplessly); to repeat sth over and over again |
| 曲折 | qū zhé | winding; (fig.) complicated |
| 折扣 | zhé kòu | discount |
| 转折 (轉折) | zhuǎn zhé | shift in the trend of events; turnaround |
| 琢磨 | zhuó mó | to carve and polish (jade); to polish and refine a literary work |
| 磨损 (磨損) | mó sǔn | to suffer wear and tear; to deteriorate through use; to wear out |
| 磨难 (磨難) | mó nàn | a torment; a trial |
See also: Japanese symbol for “torture”.
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.
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