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绝迹 (jué jì) — to vanish completely; to become extinct

Definition

绝迹 means a species, disease, or tradition has completely disappeared and no longer exists anywhere. Stronger than 消失 (general 'disappear') and 灭绝 (extinct, often used for species).

verb
to vanish completelyto become extinct
Easily confused

Examples

  • 绝迹。
    Zhè zhǒng jí bìng zài zhōng guó yǐ jīng jué jì le.
    This disease has vanished in China.
  • ，绝迹。
    Suí zhe xiàn dài huà fā zhǎn, hěn duō chuán tǒng shǒu yì yǐ jīng jué jì.
    With modernization, many traditional crafts have vanished.
  • 绝迹。
    Kǒng lóng zài jǐ qiān wàn nián qián jiù jué jì le.
    Dinosaurs vanished tens of millions of years ago.

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
迹jìtrace

绝 means cut off, and 迹 means traces, so the traces are gone.

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.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辶Written in full as辵chuòmove
Sound part声符shēngfú
朿
朿cì迹jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

迹 pairs 辶, a movement part, with 亦, a sound part; an older form used 朿.

Open 迹 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9BiologyChange & Process

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.