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失事 (shī shì) — (formal) to have an accident, to crash (used for planes, ships, and other vehicles)

Definition

A formal verb meaning a vehicle (plane, ship, etc.) has met with an accident or crashed. Pairs with the noun 船舶 when reporting ship casualties.

verb
(formal) to have an accidentto crash (used for planes, ships, and other vehicles)

Examples

  • 失事。
    Nà jià xiǎo xíng fēi jī zài fēi xíng tú zhōng shī shì le.
    That small plane crashed mid-flight.
  • 失事，。
    Zhè sōu huò lún zài bào fēng yǔ zhōng shī shì, chuán tǐ yán zhòng shòu sǔn.
    This cargo ship met with an accident in the storm and was severely damaged.
  • 失事，。
    Yí liàng kǎ chē zài gāo sù gōng lù shàng shī shì, dǎo zhì jiāo tōng zǔ sè.
    A truck had an accident on the highway, causing a traffic jam.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

失shīlose
事shìmatter

The sense of 失 as lose or fail and 事 as a matter or incident gives a matter going wrong, hence an accident.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Safety & Danger

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