致命 (zhì mìng) — (formal/literary) to sacrifice one's life | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

致命 (zhìmìng) means 'fatal / deadly' — used as an adjective to describe something that causes death (致命伤 'mortal wound'). For the verb sense 'to sacrifice one's life' (archaic), prefer the more common 牺牲.

verb

(formal/literary) to sacrifice one's life

Examples

致命。
Tā wèi le gé mìng shì yè ér zhì mìng.
He sacrificed his life for the revolutionary cause.
致命。
Gǔ dài jiàng shì cháng cháng zài biān jìng zhì mìng.
Ancient soldiers often sacrificed their lives at the border.
致命。
Nà xiē yǒng shì háo bù yóu yù dì zhì mìng le.
Those brave warriors sacrificed their lives without hesitation.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

致 causes or brings about, and 命 is life, so 致命 is to cause loss of life, i.e. fatal.

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.

至攵致

Meaning part形符xíngfú

攵Written in full as攴pū

Sound part声符shēngfú

至

至zhì致zhì

Same sound today

致 pairs 至, used for its sound, with 攵, written in full as 攴.

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

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng命mìng

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Appears in

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