草菅人命 cǎojiānrénmìng to disregard human life Definitions Defs Origin Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 草 cǎo noun grass grass; straw; herbs; plants with non-woody stems菅 jiān to treat with contempt (bound form) to treat something as if it were worthless or cheap, often used in the idiom 草菅人命 cǎojiānrénmìng人命 rénmìng human life human life; a person's life