窒息 (zhì xī) — to suffocate; to choke; to stifle | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

窒息 (zhìxī) is the strong, often dramatic 'suffocate / choke / be stifled' — physical (smoke, lack of air) or figurative (pressure, pollution). 比憋更重,侧重生命/生存的压迫;与喘息 (to gasp for breath) 相反。

verb

to suffocateto choketo stifle

Examples

窒息。
Huǒ zāi zhōng hěn duō rén yīn nóng yān zhì xī.
Many people suffocated from the thick smoke in the fire.
窒息。
Cháng qī de yā lì ràng tā jué de zhì xī.
Long-term pressure makes him feel suffocated.
窒息。
Zhè ge chéng shì de kōng qì wū rǎn lìng rén zhì xī.
The air pollution in this city is suffocating.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

息xībreath

窒 blocks, and 息 is breath, so 窒息 is to block the breath, i.e. suffocate.

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.

穴至窒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

至

至zhì窒zhì

Same sound today

窒 combines 穴, a hole or cave, with 至, which gives the sound.

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

自心息

自自zìnose
心心xīnheart

In 息, 自 is nose and 心 is heart, showing breath or life passing through one's nose.

Appears in

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