死 (sǐ) — to die; inflexible, rigid, fixed; (verb complement) extremely, to the point of death (colloquial)
Definition
死 is the everyday word for 'to die' — more common than the formal 死亡. As an adjective meaning 'rigid/inflexible', it's harsher than 僵硬 (physical stiffness) or 机械 (mechanical, figurative).
to dieinflexiblerigidfixed(verb complement) extremelyto the point of death (colloquial)
Examples
- 死。Nà zhī māo qù nián sǐ le.That cat died last year.
- 死，。Tā de xiǎng fǎ tài sǐ le, bú yuàn yì gǎi biàn.His thinking is too rigid; he won't change.
- ，。Wǒ lèi sǐ le, xiǎng xiū xi yí xià.I'm extremely tired; I want to rest for a while.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.
Grammar
Appears in
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