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绝世 (jué shì) — die; unmatched in one's generation; without posterity; heirless

Definition

Literary/formal: used to praise something as 'unmatched, peerless' (a work, a beauty). The 'die' sense is archaic and rare in modern use.

verb
dieunmatched in one's generationwithout posterityheirless

Examples

  • 绝世。
    Tā de zuò pǐn jué shì hǎn jiàn.
    His works are peerlessly rare.
  • 绝世。
    Zhè shì yí bù jué shì jiā zuò.
    This is an unparalleled masterpiece.
  • 绝世。
    Tā bèi yù wéi jué shì měi rén.
    She is hailed as a peerless beauty.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

绝juécut off; surpass
世shìworld; generation

绝 can mean cut off or surpass, and 世 means world or posterity, suggesting leaving the world, having no posterity, or being unmatched.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絕; 绝 is its simplified writing.

In the traditional form 絕, 刀 (knife) and 幺 (silk) show a knife cutting silk threads. The simplified 绝 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original picture.

Open 绝 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

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