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失踪 (shī zōng) — to go missing, to disappear (of a person or object)

Definition

失踪 is a more serious, often official term for people or things that have gone missing, typically in news or police contexts. 比 消失 stronger and more formal; 不见 is the casual, everyday equivalent.

verb
to go missingto disappear (of a person or object)

Examples

  • 失踪。
    Nà ge hái zi yǐ jīng shī zōng liǎng tiān le.
    That child has been missing for two days.
  • 失踪。
    Jǐng fāng zài sēn lín lǐ zhǎo dào le shī zōng de yóu kè.
    The police found the missing tourist in the forest.
  • 失踪，。
    Tā de hù zhào shī zōng le, xū yào bǔ bàn.
    His passport is missing; he needs to get a replacement.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

失shīlose
踪zōngtrace

失 (lose) with 踪 (trace) describes a person or thing losing its trace.

Characters in this word

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

The shape is explained as a fallen person's footprint surrounded by drops of blood; another reading pairs 手 (hand) and 乙 to show something falling from a hand.

Open 失 →

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
足足zúfoot
Sound part声符shēngfú
宗
宗zōng踪zōng
Same sound today

踪 pairs 足, a foot, with 宗, which gives the sound zōng.

Open 踪 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Crime & Police2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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