咽气 (yàn qì) — to breathe one's last, to die | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

咽气 (yànqì) is a literary, euphemistic verb meaning 'to breathe one's last / die' — softer and more written than plain 死, and usually used in narrative or formal contexts.

verb

to breathe one's lastto die

Examples

咽气。
Tā zài yī yuàn lǐ píng jìng dì yàn qì le.
He died peacefully in the hospital.
。
Lǎo rén yàn le zuì hòu yì kǒu qì.
The old man breathed his last.
咽气。
Tā yàn qì qián hái diàn jì zhe jiā rén.
Before dying, he was still thinking about his family.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

咽yànswallow

气qìbreath

咽 swallow and 气 breath combine to mean breathe one's last.

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.

口因咽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

口口kǒumouth

Sound part声符shēngfú

因

因yīn咽yàn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 咽, 口 is mouth, showing it is connected to the mouth or throat; 因 gives the sound.

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 氣; 气 is its simplified writing.

气米氣

Meaning part形符xíngfú

米米mǐrice

Sound part声符shēngfú

气

气qì氣qì

Same sound today

The traditional form 氣 pairs 米 (rice) with 气, which supplies the sound; the simplified 气 is a later abbreviation.

Appears in

Life Stages & Age

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.