冷れい酷こく無む残ざん

Meanings

cruel and heartless; merciless; cold-blooded

Yojijukugo describing a person or action that is utterly ruthless, without any compassion or remorse. Often used in literary or emphatic contexts.

彼かれの冷れい酷こく無む残ざんな仕し打うちに、誰だれもが言こと葉ばを失うしなった。
Everyone was speechless at his cruel and heartless treatment.
冷れい酷こく無む残ざんな決けつ断だんを下くださなければならない時ときもある。
There are times when you have to make a merciless decision.

Kanji

冷cool, cold (beer, person), chill
酷cruel, severe, atrocious
無nothingness, none, ain't
残remainder, leftover, balance
惨wretched, disaster, cruelty
慚feel ashamed
慙ashamed, humiliated, shameful

Related words

冷れい酷こく
冷酷 is a common word for 'cruelty' or 'cold-heartedness'. 冷酷無残 is a stronger, more emphatic yojijukugo that adds the nuance of being utterly merciless and without pity.
無む残ざん
無残 alone means 'cruel' or 'merciless', but 冷酷無残 combines it with 冷酷 to intensify the meaning into a set four-character idiom.

Built from

冷れい酷こく+無む残ざん

Written forms

冷れい酷こく無む残ざん
Most common kanji spelling for this yojijukugo.
冷れい酷こく無む惨ざん
Variant spelling using 惨 (cruelty/misery).
冷れい酷こく無む慚ざん
Rare variant using 慚 (shame).
冷れい酷こく無む慙ざん
Rare variant using 慙 (shame).

Etymology

A yojijukugo combining 冷酷 (cold-hearted cruelty) and 無残 (mercilessness). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it follows the typical pattern of intensifying compounds in classical Chinese-derived idioms.