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该死 (gāi sǐ) — (interjection) damn it!; (adjective) damned, wretched

Definition

Interjection expressing strong annoyance or frustration ('damn it!'), or used as an adjective ('damned, wretched') to describe something irritating. Stronger and more emotional than 他妈的; not truly profanity in standard usage.

interjection
damn it!
adjective
damnedwretched

Examples

  • 该死！。
    gāi sǐ! Wǒ yòu wàng le dài yào shi.
    Damn it! I forgot my keys again.
  • 该死，？
    Zhè gāi sǐ tiān qì, zěn me yòu xià yǔ le?
    This damned weather — why is it raining again?
  • 该死，。
    Nǐ zhēn shì gāi sǐ, jū rán bǎ zhè jiàn shì gǎo zá le.
    You're really damnable — you actually messed this up.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

该gāideserve
死sǐdeath

该 as deserve and 死 as death combine to mean deserving death.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 該; 该 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài該gāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 該 pairs 言 (speech) with 亥 as a sound part; the simplified 该 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 该 →

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
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →
Appears in
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