屠ほふる

ほ

ふ

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

slaughter; massacre; butcher

formal or literary

Formal or literary term for killing animals or people in large numbers, often with a brutal connotation.

敵てき軍ぐんは村むら人びとを無む差さ別べつに屠ほふった。
The enemy army indiscriminately slaughtered the villagers.

彼かれは屠と殺さつ場じょうで牛うしを屠ほふる仕し事ごとをしている。

He works at a slaughterhouse, slaughtering cattle.

2

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

defeat soundly; overpower; vanquish

formal or literary

Figurative use in formal or literary contexts, describing a decisive victory over an opponent.

我わがチームは決けっ勝しょうで相あい手てを屠ほふった。
Our team soundly defeated the opponent in the finals.

Written forms

屠るUsage76%
- ほふる
  Standard kanji spelling for this verb.
- はふる
  rarely-used kana form
- ほぶる
  out-dated reading
ほふるUsage24%
Kana spelling is acceptable, especially when the kanji is obscure.
はふる
rarely-used kana form
ほぶる
out-dated reading

Kanji

屠slaughter, butcher, slay

Similar words

殺ころす
殺す is the general word for 'kill', while 屠る is more specific to slaughtering or massacring and carries a literary tone.
倒たおす
倒す means 'to defeat' or 'to knock down' in a general sense, whereas 屠る implies a more overwhelming and brutal victory.

Etymology

The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 屠 is conventionally associated with slaughtering, and the verb is used in formal or literary contexts.