誓 (shì) — vow, oath, pledge (as a bound noun morpheme); to swear, to vow (as a bound verb morpheme)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'vow / oath / to swear' — it never stands alone; it appears in compounds like 誓言 (oath), 发誓 (to vow), and 誓死 (to swear to the death). The verb takes 死 (sǐ) as a common result complement.
bound form
vowoathpledge (as a bound noun morpheme)to swearto vow (as a bound verb morpheme)
Examples
- 。Tā fā shì yào nǔ lì xué xí.He vowed to study hard.
- 。Tā zài hūn lǐ shàng xuān dú le shì yán.He read his vows at the wedding.
- 。Tā men shì sǐ bǎo wèi guó jiā.They swore to defend their country to the death.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
誓 is built from 言, meaning speech, and 折, which provides the sound. The speech part shows it is about spoken words, such as a vow.
Appears in
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.