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自尽 (zì jìn) — to commit suicide

Definition

自尽 (zìjìn) is a formal verb for 'to commit suicide', often used in literary, historical, or news contexts rather than everyday speech.

verb
to commit suicide

Examples

  • ，自尽。
    Tā yīn wèi qiàn le hěn duō zhài, zuì hòu xuǎn zé le zì jìn.
    He owed a lot of debt and finally chose to end his own life.
  • 自尽，。
    Zhè wèi jiāng jūn zài zhàn bài hòu bèi pò zì jìn, yǐ bǎo quán jiā zú.
    This general was forced to commit suicide after defeat in order to protect his family.
  • 自尽。
    Gǔ dài yǒu xiē wén rén yīn zhèng zhì shī yì ér zì jìn.
    In ancient times, some literati committed suicide out of political frustration.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

自zìoneself
尽jìndie

自, oneself, and 尽, die, give the sense of taking one's own life.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

自 originally drew a nose. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write 自, so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 自 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

  • 聿聿yùhand holding a brush
  • 灬灬huǒbristles
  • 皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →
Appears in
Mental Health

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