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垂死 (chuí sǐ) — to be dying; moribund

Definition

A literary verb meaning 'at the point of death / moribund', usually used figuratively or in written narration about a person, business, or thing on the verge of collapse. More formal and dramatic than everyday 快要死了.

verb
to be dyingmoribund

Examples

  • 垂死，。
    Nà ge bìng rén yǐ jīng chuí sǐ, yī shēng yě wú néng wéi lì le.
    That patient is already dying, and the doctors can do nothing.
  • ，垂死。
    Zhè jiā lǎo diàn shēng yì yuè lái yuè chà, yǐ jīng dào le chuí sǐ de jìng dì.
    This old shop's business is getting worse and worse, and it has reached a dying state.
  • ，垂死。
    Tā zài zhàn chǎng shàng fù le zhòng shāng, chuí sǐ zhī jì bèi zhàn yǒu jiù le huí lái.
    He was severely wounded on the battlefield, and at the point of death he was saved by his comrades.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

垂chuíhang down; nearly
死sǐdie

The 垂 sense of hanging down or being close is linked with the 死 sense of dying, giving nearly dead.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

垂 combines 𠂹 and 土 to draw flowers hanging down from a plant.

Open 垂 →

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 →
Appears in
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