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累死 (lèi sǐ) — extremely exhausted, dead tired (hyperbolic, lit. 'tired to death')

Definition

A hyperbolic, colloquial way to say 'exhausted to death' — stronger and more vivid than 累 ('tired') or 疲劳 ('fatigued'), used in casual speech to dramatize how worn out you feel. Often combines with 了 or 把-construction to emphasize the result.

verb
extremely exhausteddead tired (hyperbolic, lit. 'tired to death')

Examples

  • ，累死。
    Jīn tiān shàng bān máng le yì tiān, zhēn shì lèi sǐ wǒ le.
    I was busy at work all day today; I'm really dead tired.
  • ，累死。
    Bié pǎo le, wǒ dōu kuài lèi sǐ le.
    Stop running; I'm almost exhausted.
  • 累死。
    Zhè ge xiàng mù bǎ wǒ lèi sǐ le.
    This project has worn me out.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
补充bǔchōngVerb + complement

An action followed by its result or direction.

累lèitired
死sǐdie

累 'tired' + 死 'die' gives 'tired to death', meaning extremely exhausted.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 累 →

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 →
Appears in
Illness & Symptoms

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