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夭折 (yāo shé) — to die young, to die prematurely; (figurative) to come to a premature end, to be aborted (of a project, plan, etc.)

Definition

夭折 (yāo shé) literally means 'to die young' (a child or young person), and is figuratively used for projects, plans, or movements that end before maturing. It is a formal, written word — not used in casual speech.

verb
to die youngto die prematurely(figurative) to come to a premature endto be aborted (of a project, plan, etc.)

Examples

  • 夭折。
    Nà ge hái zi bú dào liǎng suì jiù yāo shé le.
    That child died young before reaching two years old.
  • 夭折。
    Zhè ge chuàng yè xiàng mù yīn wèi zī jīn wèn tí yāo shé le.
    This startup project came to a premature end due to funding issues.
  • 夭折。
    Zhàn zhēng ràng xǔ duō nián qīng de shēng mìng yāo shé le.
    The war caused many young lives to be cut short.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

夭yāodie young
折zhébreak

夭 and 折, dying young and breaking off, combine for a premature end.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

夭 was drawn as a figure leaning forward, as if running, and this picture is linked to energy and youth.

Open 夭 →

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

  • 屮𣏄𣏄a tree {{zh-m|*木}} cut in half
  • 斤斤jīnaxe

The shape originally showed an axe (斤) cutting a tree in half; in 折 the left part is now written as a hand.

Open 折 →
Appears in
Change & ProcessLife Stages & Age

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