归天 (guī tiān) — (euphemism, formal) to pass away, to die (for elderly/respectable persons)

Definition

A formal, literary euphemism for 'pass away,' used for respected elders or notable people — not for casual or sudden death. It sounds elevated and dignified, closer in tone to 逝世 than to everyday 死.

verb
(euphemism, formal) to pass awayto die (for elderly/respectable persons)

Examples

  • 归天。
    Lǎo rén jiǔ shí duō suì shí ān xiáng dì guī tiān le.
    The elderly man passed away peacefully at over ninety years old.
  • 归天。
    Cūn lǐ rén dōu shuō zhāng nǎi nai shì jī dé xiū fú cái ān xiáng guī tiān de.
    The villagers all say that Granny Zhang accumulated virtue and blessings, so she passed away peacefully.
  • 归天。
    Tā bú xìng guī tiān de xiāo xi ràng quán jiā rén bēi tòng bù yǐ.
    The news of his unfortunate passing filled the whole family with deep grief.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

归guīreturn
天tiānheaven

归天: 归 (return) and 天 (heaven) together express returning to heaven, a euphemism for death.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 歸; 归 is its simplified writing.

  • 𠂤𠂤𠂤ancient form of {{zh-l|*師|troops}}
  • 帚帚zhǒubroom; sweep

The traditional form 歸 combines 𠂤 (troops) and 帚 (broom; sweep) to show sweeping away an enemy and returning; the simplified 归 is a later abbreviation.

Open 归 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →

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