逼死 (bī sǐ) — to hound to death, to push someone to the point… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid verb meaning to pressure, harass, or stress someone until they collapse (literally or emotionally) — stronger than 压垮 ('crush/overwhelm'), implying relentless pursuit rather than a single heavy load.

verb

to hound to death, to push someone to the point of death (literally or figuratively)

Examples

，逼死。
Tā yīn wèi hái bù qǐ zhài, bèi zhài zhǔ bī sǐ le.
He was hounded to death by creditors because he couldn't pay his debts.
，逼死。
Gōng zuò yā lì tài dà, kuài bǎ wǒ bī sǐ le.
The work pressure is too great — it's about to kill me.
，逼死。
Tā shòu bù liǎo wǎng shàng de gōng jī, chà diǎn bèi bī sǐ.
She couldn't bear the online attacks and was almost hounded to death.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

逼死 joins 逼, force, with 死, die, to mean push someone to death.

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.

辶畐逼

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

畐

畐fú逼bī

Same sound today

逼 pairs 辶, which carries the meaning, with 畐, which gives the sound.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

尸

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.

Appears in

Conflict & Agreement

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