早逝 (zǎo shì) — to die young, to pass away prematurely

Definition

A written, formal verb meaning 'to die young / to pass away prematurely.' Carries a literary tone (often about writers, artists, or talents) and is more elevated than the plain 死.

verb
to die youngto pass away prematurely

Examples

  • 早逝，。
    Tā yīn wèi jí bìng ér zǎo shì, lìng rén wǎn xī.
    He died young due to illness, which is regrettable.
  • 早逝。
    Zhè wèi tiān cái yīn yuè jiā zài sān shí suì shí zǎo shì.
    This musical genius died young at the age of thirty.
  • 早逝，。
    Tā zǎo shì hòu, wén tán shī qù le yí wèi tiān cái.
    After he died young, the literary world lost a genius.

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.

早zǎoearly
逝shìpass away

早 means early, and 逝 means pass away; together they describe dying prematurely.

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
棗
棗zǎo早zǎo
Same sound today

The form 早 pairs 日 (sun) with 棗, which gives the sound; an earlier shape of 早 was a picture of an acorn.

Open 早 →

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
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
折
折zhé逝shì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

逝 combines 辵, a walking part, with 折, which gives the sound.

Open 逝 →

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