夭 (yāo) — (bound form) to die young, premature death

Definition

A bound literary/archaic morph meaning 'to die young or before one's time.' Almost never used alone — it appears in compounds like 夭折, 夭亡, or 夭寿.

bound form

to die youngpremature death

Easily confused

。
Tā nián jǐn èr shí suì jiù yāo zhé le.
He died young at just twenty years old.
。
Zhè ge xiàng mù yīn wèi zī jīn wèn tí ér yāo zhé.
This project came to a premature end due to funding issues.
夭。
Gǔ dài hěn duō yǒu cái huá de shī rén dōu yāo wáng le.
In ancient times, many talented poets died young.

Indicative sign

六书liùshū

指事zhǐshì

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

夭 was drawn as a figure leaning forward, as if running, and this picture is linked to energy and youth.