zuì罪crimekuí魁chiefhuò祸disastershǒu首head
The main culprit; the chief perpetrator.
Literal meaning
crime (罪) — chief (魁) — disaster (祸) — head (首)
Origin
A classical four-character phrase identifying the person responsible for a disaster.
Examples
Tā bèi rènwéi shì zhè chǎng shìgù de zuìkuí-huòshǒu.他被认为是这场事故的罪魁祸首。
He is considered the main culprit of this accident.
Wǒmen yào zhǎochū zhēnzhèng de zuìkuí-huòshǒu.我们要找出真正的罪魁祸首。
We need to find the real culprit.
Usage & nuances
Strongly negative, used to assign blame.
Learn idioms by speaking them
Idioms are most useful when they land in a real conversation. Practice them out loud in Kango — get instant feedback on tone and timing.
Download Kango on iOS