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弥留 (mí liú) — (literary) to be dying, to be on one's deathbed

Definition

Literary/formal word for being on one's deathbed — used in writing and eulogies, not in everyday speech. It usually appears in set phrases like 弥留之际 ('at the moment of death').

verb
(literary) to be dyingto be on one's deathbed

Examples

  • 弥留。
    Tā zài mí liú zhī jì bǎ cái chǎn fēn gěi le zǐ nǚ.
    While on his deathbed, he divided his property among his children.
  • 弥留，。
    Lǎo rén mí liú de shí hou, jiā rén men dōu shǒu zài chuáng biān.
    When the old man was dying, his family all stayed by his bedside.
  • 弥留。
    mí liú Zhī jì tā réng rán guà niàn zhe wèi wán chéng de shū gǎo.
    While dying, he still worried about his unfinished manuscript.

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.

弥mímore
留liúlinger

弥留 is literary: 弥 means more and 留 means linger, so lingering is increased and one is near death.

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
弓弓gōngbow
Sound part声符shēngfú
尔
尔ěr弥mí
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape of 弥 pairs 弓 (bow) as its meaning part with 尔 as its sound part.

Open 弥 →

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
田田tiánfield
Sound part声符shēngfú
卯
卯mǎo留liú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

Open 留 →
Appears in
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