死有余辜 (sǐ yǒu yú gū) — (idiom) even death cannot atone for one's crimes; extremely heinous

Definition

A formal chengyu meaning a crime is so heinous that even death cannot repay the debt. Used in writing to condemn extreme evil, not in casual speech.

idiom
even death cannot atone for one's crimesextremely heinous

Examples

  • 死有余辜，。
    Zhè ge zuì fàn fàn xià de zuì xíng sǐ yǒu yú gū, bì xū shòu dào zuì yán lì de chéng fá.
    The crimes committed by this criminal are so heinous that even death cannot atone for them; he must receive the harshest punishment.
  • ，死有余辜。
    Lì shǐ shū shàng jì zǎi de nà xiē bào jūn, zhēn shì sǐ yǒu yú gū.
    The tyrants recorded in history books are truly beyond redemption even in death.
  • ，死有余辜。
    Tā wèi le qián cái shā hài wú gū, zhè zhǒng è xíng sǐ yǒu yú gū.
    He killed innocent people for money — such evil deeds cannot be expiated even by death.

Origin

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
肉肉ròumeat
Sound part声符shēngfú
又
又yòu有yǒu
Same sound today

The form 有 combines 又, used for its sound, with a shape from 肉, 'meat'; the hand-holding-meat story is a folk explanation, not shown in the oldest shape.

Open 有 →

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 餘; 余 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
食食shí
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú餘Yú
Same sound today

The traditional form 餘 pairs 食 (food) with 余 as its sound part; the simplified 余 is a later abbreviation.

Open 余 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辛辛xīn
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ辜gū
Same sound today

辜 pairs 古 as the sound part with 辛 as the meaning part.

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