罪魁祸首 zuì kuí huò shǒu

fig. main cause of a disaster

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 13368th word

Definitions

  1. 1. fig. main cause of a disaster
  2. 2. criminal ringleader, main offender (idiom); main culprit

Characters

Character Meaning
罪 zuì HSK 6
crime; guilt; fault
魁 kuí
chief; head; outstanding
祸 huò HSK 6
misfortune; disaster; calamity
首 shǒu HSK 4
first (occasion, thing etc); head; chief