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善终 (shàn zhōng) — (of a life) to die a natural death; (of an affair) to end well, to have a satisfactory conclusion

Definition

A literary/Chinese-cultural term meaning to 'end well' — used for a person dying peacefully of old age, or figuratively for a matter concluding satisfactorily. Carries moral weight: a good life or a well-resolved affair.

verb
(of a life) to die a natural death(of an affair) to end well, to have a satisfactory conclusion

Examples

  • ，善终。
    Zhè wèi lǎo rén yì shēng zuò hǎo shì, zuì hòu dé yǐ shàn zhōng.
    This old man did good deeds all his life and finally died a natural death.
  • 善终，。
    Rú guǒ xiàng mù bù néng shàn zhōng, wǒ men huì hěn shī wàng.
    If the project doesn't end well, we'll be very disappointed.
  • 善终。
    Lì shǐ shàng hěn duō huài rén zuì hòu dōu méi yǒu shàn zhōng.
    Many bad people in history did not die a natural death.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

善shàngood
终zhōngend

善 describes a good or proper end, and 终 gives the idea of ending, so the word means to end well.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

An earlier form of 善 joined 羊, a sheep linked with goodness or beauty, and 誩, described as a wrangle; the reference says this meaning link is hard to understand.

Open 善 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 終; 终 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mì
Sound part声符shēngfú
冬
冬dōng終zhōng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 終 pairs 糸 (a cord) with 冬 as a sound part; the simplified 终 is a later shorthand. An older form showed a knot at the end of a cord.

Open 终 →
Appears in
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