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英年早逝 (yīng nián zǎo shì) — to die prematurely in one's prime; to be cut off in the flower of one's youth

Definition

Literary idiom meaning to die young while still in one's prime, used especially for talented people whose loss is deeply mourned. Note: this is a fixed chengyu — treat it as one unit, not four separate words.

verb
to die prematurely in one's primeto be cut off in the flower of one's youth

Examples

  • 英年早逝，。
    Nà wèi nián qīng de gāng qín jiā bú xìng yīng nián zǎo shì, lìng zhěng gè yīn yuè jiè bēi tòng bù yǐ.
    That young pianist unfortunately died an untimely death, causing deep sorrow throughout the music world.
  • ，英年早逝，。
    Tā shì yí wèi cái huá héng yì de shī rén, què yīng nián zǎo shì, lìng rén wǎn xī.
    He was a brilliant poet, but he died prematurely, which is truly regrettable.
  • 英年早逝，。
    Lì shǐ shàng xǔ duō tiān cái yì shù jiā yīng nián zǎo shì, zhī liú xià le yǒu xiàn de zuò pǐn.
    Many genius artists in history were cut off in their prime, leaving behind only a limited body of work.

Origin

Characters in this word

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
央
央yāng英yīng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

英 pairs 艹 (grass) with 央, which gives the sound.

Open 英 →

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
禾禾héwheat; grain
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén年nián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

年 pairs 禾 (grain) with 人, which gives the sound. Its original meaning was harvest, and it later came to mean a year.

Open 年 →

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
日日rìsun
Sound part声符shēngfú
棗
棗zǎo早zǎo
Same sound today

The form 早 pairs 日 (sun) with 棗, which gives the sound; an earlier shape of 早 was a picture of an acorn.

Open 早 →

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
辵辵chuòwalking
Sound part声符shēngfú
折
折zhé逝shì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

逝 combines 辵, a walking part, with 折, which gives the sound.

Open 逝 →
Appears in
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