视死如归 (shì sǐ rú guī) — (idiom) to face death unflinchingly; to be utterly fearless in the face of danger or sacrifice

Definition

A literary chengyu meaning to face death as if it were coming home — a lofty, formal praise for total fearlessness and devotion to a cause.

idiom
to face death unflinchinglyto be utterly fearless in the face of danger or sacrifice

Examples

  • 视死如归，。
    Gé mìng xiān liè men shì sǐ rú guī, wèi le lǐ xiǎng xiàn chū le shēng mìng.
    The revolutionary martyrs faced death unflinchingly, sacrificing their lives for their ideals.
  • ，视死如归，。
    Zhàn chǎng shàng, zhàn shì men gè gè shì sǐ rú guī, háo bú tuì suō.
    On the battlefield, every soldier was utterly fearless and never retreated.
  • 视死如归。
    Zhè zhǒng shì sǐ rú guī de jīng shén zhí dé wǒ men yǒng yuǎn xué xí.
    This spirit of facing death unflinchingly is worth learning from forever.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 視; 视 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
見見jiànsee
Sound part声符shēngfú
示
示shì視shì
Same sound today

The story is about the traditional form 視: it combines 見, meaning see, with 示, which gives the sound shì.

Open 视 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
女
女nǚ如rú
Same sound today

如 is built from 口 (mouth) for its meaning and 女 (woman) for its sound.

Open 如 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歸; 归 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤ancient form of {{zh-l|*師|troops}}
  • 帚帚zhǒubroom; sweep

The traditional form 歸 combines 𠂤 (troops) and 帚 (broom; sweep) to show sweeping away an enemy and returning; the simplified 归 is a later abbreviation.

Open 归 →

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