死死地 (sǐ sǐ de) — tightly; firmly; unyieldingly; (stare) fixedly

Definition

死死地 is an adverbial intensifier: it strengthens the verb to mean 'tightly / firmly / fixedly', often with a sense of stubborn effort. Pattern is 死死地 + verb (e.g. 死死地抓住).

adjective
tightlyfirmlyunyieldingly(stare) fixedly
Easily confused

Examples

  • 死死地。
    Tā sǐ sǐ de zhuā zhù wǒ de shǒu bú fàng.
    He held my hand tightly and wouldn't let go.
  • 死死地。
    Tā sǐ sǐ de dīng zhe nà ge mò shēng rén.
    She stared fixedly at that stranger.
  • 死死地。
    Dí rén bèi wǒ men sǐ sǐ de wéi zhù le.
    The enemy was tightly surrounded by us.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

死死firmly
死sǐfirmly死sǐfirmly
重叠Reduplication
地dìmanner

The doubled 死 intensifies 'firmly', and 地 shows how something is done.

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →

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