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逝世 (shì shì) — to pass away (formal, respectful, for VIPs/public figures)

Definition

The most formal, respectful 'to pass away,' used in official writing and announcements for honored public figures. 去世 is the everyday neutral equivalent; 死亡 is clinical/cold, not for people you revere.

verb
to pass away (formal, respectful, for VIPs/public figures)

Examples

  • 逝世。
    Zhè wèi wěi dà zuò jiā shàng zhōu shì shì le.
    This great writer passed away last week.
  • 逝世。
    Rén men shēn qiè dào niàn shì shì de liè shì.
    People deeply mourned the fallen heroes who passed away.
  • 逝世。
    Zǒng tǒng zhì cí āi dào gāng gāng shì shì de qián rèn.
    The president gave a speech mourning the predecessor who just passed away.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

逝shìdepart
世shìworld

逝 means depart and 世 means world; together they suggest leaving the world.

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
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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 世 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Life Stages & Age

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.