绝种 (jué zhǒng) — to become extinct, to die out (of a species)

Definition

绝种 means a species or kind has completely died out — no individuals left. 绝 alone often refers to loss of a skill or tradition (e.g. 绝迹), while 绝种 is specifically biological extinction.

verb

to become extinctto die out (of a species)

Examples

绝种。
Zhè zhǒng kǒng lóng zǎo zài jǐ qiān wàn nián qián jiù jué zhǒng le.
This dinosaur species went extinct tens of millions of years ago.
。
Zhè ge dì qū yǐ jīng jué le hǎo jǐ zhǒng niǎo.
Several species of birds have already gone extinct in this area.
，绝种。
Rú guǒ bù bǎo hù huán jìng, hěn duō dòng wù dōu huì jué zhǒng.
If we don't protect the environment, many animals will go extinct.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

绝juécut off

种zhǒngspecies

绝 “cut off” and 种 “species” together describe a species dying out.

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 絕; 绝 is its simplified writing.

刀幺絕

刀刀dāoknife
幺幺yāosilk

In the traditional form 絕, 刀 (knife) and 幺 (silk) show a knife cutting silk threads. The simplified 绝 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original picture.

Open 绝 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾中种

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hérice

Sound part声符shēngfú

中

中zhōng种zhǒng

Same sound today

种 pairs 禾, which shows rice or grain and fits meanings like plant and seed, with 中, which gives its sound.

Open 种 →

Appears in