自杀 (zì shā) — to commit suicide

Definition

verb
to commit suicide

Examples

  • 自杀。
    Tā yīn wèi yā lì tài dà xuǎn zé le zì shā.
    He chose to commit suicide because of too much pressure.
  • 自杀。
    Zhèng fǔ zhèng zài cǎi qǔ cuò shī yù fáng zì shā.
    The government is taking measures to prevent suicide.
  • 自杀。
    Yǒu zì shā qīng xiàng de rén xū yào jí shí de xīn lǐ bāng zhù.
    People with suicidal tendencies need timely psychological help.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

自zìself
杀shākill

自 points to the person and 杀 means kill, giving to kill oneself.

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 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 殺; 杀 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 殺 comes from an old drawing of a boar impaled in the head, with 人 and 又 added to show a person doing the killing; the simplified 杀 is a later abbreviation.

Open 杀 →
Appears in
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