濒死 (bīn sǐ) — nearing death; on the verge of death

Definition

濒死 (bīn sǐ) is a formal, almost literary verb/adjective phrase meaning 'on the verge of dying / near death,' typically used in medical, literary, or ecological writing rather than everyday speech.

verb
nearing deathon the verge of death

Examples

  • 濒死，。
    Zhè wèi bìng rén chǔ yú bīn sǐ zhuàng tài, yī shēng zhèng zài jìn lì qiǎng jiù.
    This patient is in a near-death state; the doctor is doing everything to save him.
  • 濒死。
    Tā zài bīn sǐ shí kàn dào le zì jǐ de guò qù.
    He saw his past while on the verge of death.
  • 濒死，。
    Zhè zhǒng bīn wēi dòng wù yǐ jīng bīn sǐ, xū yào jǐn jí bǎo hù.
    This endangered species is already nearing extinction and needs urgent protection.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

濒bīnapproach
死sǐdeath

濒 approach and 死 death combine to mean nearing 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 瀕; 濒 is its simplified writing.

For 濒, the traditional form 瀕 pictures a person with their feet at the edge of water.

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 →

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