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寂静 (jì jìng) — quiet, still, silent (of a profound or dead silence, often in nature or literary contexts)

Definition

Literary adjective for a deep, absolute silence — typically nature, night, or empty spaces. Stronger than 安静; more solemn and atmospheric than 宁静.

adjective
quietstillsilent (of a profound or dead silence, often in nature or literary contexts)

Examples

  • 寂静，。
    Shēn yè de xiào yuán yí piàn jì jìng, zhǐ yǒu yuǎn chù de chóng míng.
    The campus at night is utterly silent, only the chirps of insects in the distance.
  • 寂静，。
    Tā zhàn zài jì jìng de shān dǐng shàng, gǎn jué zhěng gè shì jiè dōu jìng zhǐ le.
    He stood on the silent mountaintop, feeling the whole world had stopped.
  • 寂静，。
    Zài jì jìng de shēn yè lǐ, tā dú zì sī kǎo rén shēng de yì yì.
    In the quiet deep night, he pondered the meaning of life alone.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

寂jìquiet
静jìngquiet

Both 寂 and 静 carry a sense of stillness, so together they describe a deep quiet.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánhouse
Sound part声符shēngfú
叔
叔shū寂jì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

寂 is built from 宀, a house, and 叔, which gives its pronunciation.

Open 寂 →

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 靜; 静 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 靜, not the simplified 静, uses 青 and 爭 for sound; an old source also treats 青 (blue) as a meaning part.

Open 静 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6

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