Archaic word for extreme cruelty or atrocity; now almost entirely replaced by 残酷 (ざんこく). Found only in older texts.
See also: 残酷 (ざんこく)
The ancient documents record the brutality of the war.
Archaic kanji form; the modern standard is 残酷 (ざんこく).
Variant kanji form; also archaic and rarely used.
The kanji 惨 (wretched, disastrous) and 酷 (cruel, severe) combine to express extreme cruelty. The reading さんこく is the on'yomi of both characters. The word is now obsolete, having been replaced by 残酷 (ざんこく), which uses a different first character but carries the same meaning.