逝 (shì) — (bound form) to pass away; to die (formal/literary); (bound form) to elapse; to pass (of time)
Definition
Literary/written word for 'to pass away' (usually as 逝世) or 'time passing' (as 流逝). Always bound — it never stands alone in modern Chinese.
bound form
to pass awayto die (formal/literary)to elapseto pass (of time)
Examples
- 。Zhè wèi wěi rén yú qù nián shì shì.This great person passed away last year.
- ，。Shí guāng liú shì, zhuǎn yǎn yǐ shì shí nián.Time flows by; in the blink of an eye, ten years have passed.
- ，。Wǎng shì shì qù, bú bì zài tí.Past events have faded away; no need to mention them again.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
折
折zhé逝shì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.
逝 combines 辵, a walking part, with 折, which gives the sound.
Appears in
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