If something is barbaric, it is very cruel and violent — so cruel it feels beyond ordinary unkindness. People use it for torture, for a bloody attack, for a punishment that makes you look away. It is a strong, rather formal adjective; in everyday talk you might just say cruel or brutal.

If something is barbaric如果一件事是barbaric的, it is very cruel and violent它非常殘忍、暴力——so cruel it feels beyond ordinary unkindness殘忍到超出一般的不友善。People use it for torture, for a bloody attack, for a punishment that makes you look away人們會用這個字來形容酷刑、血腥的攻擊，或是讓人不忍直視的懲罰。It is a strong, rather formal adjective這是一個語氣很重、相當正式的形容詞; in everyday talk you might just say cruel or brutal在日常對話裡你可能只會說cruel或brutal。

Though actually, the older story of the word is about 'foreign' more than 'cruel.' The Greeks used a word that sounded like bar-bar for people whose language they did not understand. Later it came to mean wild, then savage.

Though actually不過話說回來, the older story of the word is about 'foreign' more than 'cruel.'這個字比較古早的故事其實跟「外國」比較有關，不是「殘忍」。The Greeks used a word that sounded like bar-bar for people whose language they did not understand希臘人用一個聽起來像bar-bar的字，來稱呼那些他們聽不懂語言的人。Later it came to mean wild, then savage後來它才漸漸變成「野蠻」，再變成「兇殘」的意思。

So be careful: calling a whole people barbaric is an old, loaded insult. Today the fair use is about a cruel act, not about someone's country.

So be careful所以要小心: calling a whole people barbaric is an old, loaded insult把一整個民族叫做barbaric，是一種帶著歷史包袱的老舊侮辱。Today the fair use is about a cruel act, not about someone's country今天比較公允的用法，是用來說一個殘忍的行為，而不是說某個國家的人。