死

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死 U+6B7B, 死
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-6B7B
← 歺
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 歼 →

Translingual

Han character

Stroke order
6 strokes

死 (Kangxi radical 78, 歹+2, 6 strokes, cangjie input 一弓心 (MNP), four-corner 10212, composition ⿸歹匕 or ⿱一⿰夕匕)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 578, character 22
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 16365
  • Dae Jaweon: page 970, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1380, character 6
  • Unihan data for U+6B7B

Chinese

trad. 死
simp. # 死
alternative forms
𣦸
𣦹
𠒁 ancient
𠑾 ancient
𦭀 ancient
𣦸
𣦹
𠒁 ancient
𠑾 ancient
𦭀 ancient
𦫺
𤯽
𣥴
 

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 死
Shang Western Zhou Warring States Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script Bronze inscriptions Chu slip and silk script Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts

Ideogrammic compound (會意 / 会意) : 歹 (“carcass”) + 人 (“person”) – death.

Etymology

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *səj.

Pronunciation

Note:
  • sei2 - vernacular;
  • si2 - literary (rare).
Note:
  • sī - vernacular;
  • sṳ̄ - literary.
Note:
  • si3 - vernacular;
  • so3 - literary.
Note:
  • sí - vernacular;
  • sú/sír - literary.
Note:
  • 2xi - vernacular;
  • 2sr - literary.
Rime
Character 死
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 心 (16)
Final (韻) 脂 (17)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) III
Fanqie 息姊切
Baxter sijX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/sˠiɪX/
Pan
Wuyun 		/sᵚiX/
Shao
Rongfen 		/siɪX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/sjiX/
Li
Rong 		/sjiX/
Wang
Li 		/siX/
Bernhard
Karlgren 		/siX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		sǐ
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		si2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 死
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		sǐ
Middle
Chinese 		‹ sijX ›
Old
Chinese 		/*sijʔ/
English die (v.)

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 死
Reading # 1/1
No. 12006
Phonetic
component 		死
Rime
group 		脂
Rime
subdivision 		2
Corresponding
MC rime 		死
Old
Chinese 		/*hljiʔ/

Definitions

死

  1. Die; death
    1. (intransitive) to die
      必死無疑／必死无疑  ―  bì sǐ wúyí  ―  will die without a doubt
      1. † (transitive) to die for the sake of; to sacrifice oneself for; to die together with someone
        死節／死节  ―  sǐjié  ―  to die for honour
    2. (only in compounds) deadly; fatal; killing; to the death
      死刑  ―  sǐxíng  ―  capital punishment
      • 死戰／死战  ―  sǐzhàn  ―  deadly battle; fight to the death
    3. inactive
      死機／死机  ―  sǐjī  ―  (of a computer system) to crash
  2. (colloquial) Used as intensifier
    1. (colloquial) very; bloody; totally
      我累死了。  ―  Wǒ lèi sǐ le.  ―  I'm dead tired.
      • 嘈死！ [Cantonese]  ―  cou4 sei2!   ―  Keep it down! (lit. You're being really noisy!)
      • 熱死／热死 [Teochew]  ―  ruah8 si2 [Peng'im]  ―  really hot
    2. (offensive) damned; damn
      呢個死阿伯唔識揸車。 [Cantonese, trad.]
      呢个死阿伯唔识揸车。 [Cantonese, simp.]
      nei1 go3 sei2 aa3 baak3 m4 sik1 zaa1 ce1.
      This damn geezer can't drive.
    3. (slang, offensive) to disappear; to go; (as in "where the hell did ... go")
      嗰枝死人原子筆死咗去邊呀？ [Guangzhou Cantonese, trad.]
      嗰枝死人原子笔死咗去边呀？ [Guangzhou Cantonese, simp.]
      go2 zi1 sei2 jan4 jyun4 zi2 bat1 sei2 zo2 heoi3 bin1 aa3?
      Where's that goddamn pen?
    4. (Cantonese) awful
      死囉！／死啰！ [Cantonese]  ―  sei2 lo3!   ―  Oh no!
  3. (Cantonese, Southern Min) persistently; stubbornly
    佢死都唔肯講。 [Cantonese, trad.]
    佢死都唔肯讲。 [Cantonese, simp.]
    keoi5 sei2 dou1 m4 hang2 gong2.
    He absolutely refuses to speak. (lit. He is persistently not willing to say it.)
    呢份工佢做死三十年。 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
    ni1 fan6 gung1 keoi5 zou6 sei2 saam1 sap6 nin4.
    He has been stubbornly doing this job for thirty years.
  4. (Southern Min) closely; firmly; tightly
  5. (Cantonese) screwed
    做又死，唔做又死 [Cantonese, trad. and simp.]
    zou6 jau6 sei2, m4 zou6 jau6 sei2
    screwed if I do, screwed if I don't

Usage notes

  • The adjective 死 ("dead, inactive, etc.") cannot be used as a predicative adjective. The sentence *這隻狗死 generally does not mean "This dog is dead". For the meaning "is dead", usually the verb 死 in the perfect aspect ("to have died") is used instead:
    這隻狗死了。／这只狗死了。  ―  Zhè zhī gǒu sǐ le.  ―  This dog has died.
  • The verb 死 ("to die") lacks a present meaning and denotes either past (in perfect aspect) or future (not in perfect aspect) events. It cannot be modified by the progressive aspect marker 正在 (zhèngzài) or 著／着 (zhe).
    不死  ―  bùsǐ  ―  "will not die", immortal
    沒死／没死  ―  méi sǐ  ―  "did not die", alive

Synonyms

  • (to die):
Dialectal synonyms of 死 (“to die”)
Variety Location Words
Classical Chinese 死, 亡, 歿, 卒
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 死, 死亡, 亡故, 喪生, 喪命, 去世 †, 過世 †, 逝世 †, 離世 †, 下世 †, 不在 †, 過去 †, 仙逝 †, 歸天 †, 歸西 †, 升天 †, 作古 †, 長眠 †, 閉眼 †, 故去 †, ‡, 故世 †, ‡, 一命嗚呼, 謝世, 離開人間
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 死, 撂, 撂條, 故去 †, 吹燈 †, 吹燈拔蠟 †, 吹臺 †, 老 †, ‡, 踹腿 ¤, 踹腿兒 ¤, 踹 ¤, 回姥姥家 ¤, 彎回去 †, 毛兒提 Hui
Taiwan 死, 過世 †
Harbin 死, 老 †, ‡, 伸腿兒 ¤, 伸腿 ¤, 蹬腿兒 ¤, 奔兒咕 ¤, 桿兒屁 §, 桿兒細 §, 吹燈拔蠟
Singapore 死, 死掉, 死翹翹, 過世 †, 去世 †, 上天堂 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †
Jilu Mandarin Jinan 死, 歿, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 不在 †, ‡, 王八 §, 完蛋, 完錢, 完活, 無常 Hui, 歸主 Hui, 歸真 Hui
Jiaoliao Mandarin Yantai (Muping) 死, 老 †, ‡, 上西天 §
Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 死, 過去, 過世, 下世, 亡故, 不在, 升天, 去世 †, 老 †, ‡, 擱那兒 ¤
Wanrong 死, 歿, 老 †, ‡
Xi'an 死, 不在 †, 老 †, ‡, 無常 Hui
Xining 歿
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 死, 走 †, 歿 Hui, 歸真 Hui, 冒提 Hui, 口喚 Hui, 無常 Hui, 完 Hui
Lanzhou 死, 過世 †, 緩下 †, 躺下 †
Ürümqi 死, 過世 †, 不在 †
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 死, 過去 †, 不在 †, 去 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 撬桿兒 §, 撬桿 §, 翹辮子 §, 見馬克思, 歸天, 去陰國, 爬高煙囪, 落氣, 冰凊, 沒脈
Wuhan 死, 過身 †, 去 †, 老 †, ‡, 去回 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 瓜碼子 ¤, 瓜 ¤, 西皮
Guiyang 死, 過世 †, 成神 †, ‡, 百年歸天 †, ‡, 嗚呼 ¤
Liuzhou 死, 沒得脈, 過世 †, 過身 †, 沒在 †, 哦嚄
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 死, 過世 †, 歸天 †, ‡, 不在 †, 嗝兒得 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤
Yangzhou 死, 不在 †, 走 †, 家去吃去 ¤, 家去 ¤, 翹辮子 ¤, 翹 ¤, 駝條 §
Hefei 死, 不在 †, 老 †
Cantonese Guangzhou 死, 過身 †, 過世 †, 老 †, ‡, 百年歸老 †, ‡, 去別有天 †, ¤, 去大煙筒 †, ¤, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 收檔 ¤, 攞竇 ¤, 進竇 §, 瓜竇, 直, 瓜直, 死直, 攤直, 雙腳撐直, 伸直腳, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 褸席, 歸西, 歸天, 食黃泥, 入黃泥窿, 入窿, 玩完, 嫌米貴, 瞇埋眼, 一 argot, 唔食廣東米
Hong Kong 死, 過身 †, 走 †, 香 †, 去 †, 唔喺度 †, 百年歸老 †, 賣鹹鴨蛋 †, 兩腳一伸 †, 仙遊 †, 拜拜 †, 去閻羅王處報到 †, 瓜 ¤, 瓜老襯 ¤, 拉柴, 瓜柴, 釘蓋, 釘, 直, 歸西, 玩完, ham
Hong Kong (San Tin; Weitou) 過身
Hong Kong (Kam Tin; Weitou) 過身
Hong Kong (Ting Kok) 過身, 死
Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau) 過身
Macau 過身, 去
Guangzhou (Panyu) 過身, 死
Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu) 死
Guangzhou (Conghua) 過身, 死
Guangzhou (Zengcheng) 去歸, 過身
Foshan 過身, 死
Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai) 死, 過身
Foshan (Shunde) 過身
Foshan (Sanshui) 過身
Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming) 死
Zhongshan (Shiqi) 過身
Zhuhai (Qianshan, Xiangzhou) 死
Zhuhai (Shangheng, Doumen; Tanka) 過身, 死
Zhuhai (Doumen) 死, 過身
Jiangmen (Baisha) 過身, 死
Jiangmen (Xinhui) 死, 過身
Taishan 死, 善, 去
Kaiping (Chikan) 死, 登仙
Enping (Niujiang) 過身, 死
Heshan (Yayao) 死
Dongguan 死, 老 †, 去返 †, 去舊時嗰處 †, 視埋眼 †, 伸直腳 †, 入罌 †, 拉柴 §, 去大煙筒 §
Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an) 死, 過身
Yangjiang 死, 過輩 †, 老 †, ‡, 老大 †, ‡
Singapore (Guangfu) 死, 過身 †
Gan Nanchang 死, 過世 †, 老 †
Lichuan 死
Pingxiang 死, 過 †, 走路 †, 老 †, ‡, 去
Hakka Meixian 死, 老, 過身 †, 消 †, 老壽 †, ‡
Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) 過身, 香 †
Dongguan (Qingxi) 過身, 死
Shenzhen (Shatoujiao) 死, 過身
Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui) 死
Guangzhou (Lütian, Conghua) 死, 過身
Yudu 死, 過世 †, 過套 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †, 轉該背 †, 歸仙 †, 轉老外婆裡 ¤
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 死, 過身 †, 往生 †, 上神桌 †
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 死, 過身 †, 上神桌 †
Hong Kong 過身, 老
Huizhou Jixi 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過身 †, 不在 †, 過老 §, 過邊 §, 進棺材 §, 進風水 §, 翹扁 §, ¤
Jin Taiyuan 死, 沒啦 †, 走 †, 過去 †, 老 †, ‡, 老客 †, ‡
Xinzhou 死, 回老家 †, 硬 §, 㞗朝天 of a man, vulgar, 倒蕎麥皮
Northern Min Jian'ou 死, 過身 †, 老 †, ‡
Eastern Min Fuzhou 死, 過去 †, 過世 †, 過後 †, 歸西 †, 百歲 †, 老去 †, ‡, 堯街去 ¤, 堯生去 ¤, 溜翹 ¤, 殂 ¤, 去算米數 ¤, 去外媽食齋 ¤, 去外媽 ¤, 去䁐廬山 ¤, 去厝去 ¤, 睏長暝眠 ¤, 翹齋 ¤, 揭兜去 ¤, 拔直去 ¤, 上天去 ¤, 生去 ¤, 𣪟去 ¤, 䁐松柏樹 ¤, 䁐松柏 ¤, 轉祖 §
Southern Min Xiamen 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 㾀 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 §
Quanzhou 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 無去 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 行雞 ¤, 馬滴 §
Zhangzhou 死, 過身 †, 過氣 †, 百歲 †, 百年 †, 百歲年老 †, 行去 †, 無去 †, 起身 †, 老去 †, ‡, 老咯 †, ‡, 蟯 ¤, 蟯歹 ¤, 蟯癱 ¤, 行雞 ¤, 誆牽 §, 㾀 §, 㾀歹 §, 馬滴 §
Taipei 死去, 老 †, 過身 †
New Taipei (Sanxia) 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 過身 †
Kaohsiung 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Yilan 死去, 老去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 過往 †
Changhua (Lukang) 死去, 老 †, 無去 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Taichung 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †
Tainan 死去, 老去 †, 行去 †, 往生 †, 無佇咧 †, 過身 †, 轉去 †
Hsinchu 曲去, 去咯 †, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †
Kinmen 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 行去 †
Penghu (Magong) 死去, 往生 †, 過身 †, 老去 †
Singapore (Hokkien) 死, 馬滴, 死翹翹, 過身 †, 百年 †, 百歲 †, 過氣 †, 起車 †, 老去 †, 老咯 †, 行去 †, 蟯去 †, 吭跤翹 †, 交登記 †
Manila (Hokkien) 死, 死去, 過面 †, 過身 †
Chaozhou 死, 過身 †, 過世 †
Jieyang 過身, 吭跤翹, 吭翹
Singapore (Teochew) 死, 過身
Leizhou 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 過目焗 ¤, 直筒 §, 刮薯減米 §
Haikou 死, 過層 †, ‡, 老 †, ‡, 貓使 §
Singapore (Hainanese) 死
Zhongshan Min Zhongshan (Longdu, Shaxi) 死
Southern Pinghua Nanning (Tingzi) 死, 瓜老襯, 過世, 歸西
Wu Shanghai 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 一腳去 †, 翹辮子 §, ¤, 彈老三 §, 翹老三 §
Shanghai (Chongming) 死, 老 †, 故 †, 翹辮子 ¤
Suzhou 死, 壞, 去, 過世 †, 翹辮子 §
Danyang 死
Hangzhou 死, 故 †, 過世 †, 翹辮兒 ¤, 到龍駒塢去
Ningbo 死, 翹辮子 §, 過世 †, 嘸沒 †, 死脫 §, 燂茶, 山裡去, 吃豆腐羹, 嘸沒來的 †, 老 †
Wenzhou 死, 冇 †, 過輩 †, ‡, 蹻 ¤
Jinhua 死, 過世 †, 過輩 †, 弗在 †, 老 †, ‡
Xiang Changsha 死, 過 †, 去 †, 瓜, 彈, 彈四郎
Loudi 死, 過世 †, 故 †, 上岸 †
Shuangfeng 死, 過世 †, 故 †
Note † - euphemistic; ‡ - usually of the elderly; ¤ - humorous; § - derogatory/disrespectful

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of “to die”): 活 (huó)

See also

  • (intensifier) 鬼 (guǐ)

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (死):
  • → Japanese: 死(し) (shi)
  • → Korean: 사(死) (sa)
  • → Vietnamese: tử (死)

Others:

References

Japanese

Kanji

死

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

  • Go-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: し (shi, Jōyō)
  • Kun: しぬ (shinu, 死ぬ, Jōyō)、ころす (korosu, 死す)

Etymology

Kanji in this term
死
し
Grade: 3
on'yomi
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

/si/ → /ɕi/

Appears to be a conflation of Middle Chinese 死 (MC sijX), with an Old Japanese root that happened to have a similar pronunciation to the Middle Chinese and was probably cognate with 去る (saru, “to go, to go away”). Compare modern Mandarin 死 (sǐ).

In kanji compounds, this would be considered as on'yomi; but on its own, this could be considered as either on'yomi or kun'yomi.

Pronunciation

Noun

死(し) • (shi) 

  1. death
    Antonym: 生 (sei)
    『死(し)に至(いた)る病(やまい)』
    “Shi ni Itaru Yamai”
    The Sickness unto Death
  2. (law, historical) one of the five punishments under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, the methods used are 絞 (kō, “strangling”) and 斬 (zan, “decapitation”)

Derived terms

Derived terms

Affix

死(し) • (shi) 

  1. death, to die
  2. dead, unfunctional
  3. life-or-death situation
  4. dangerous, life-threatening
  5. (baseball) out

Derived terms

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 死 (MC sijX).

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448 ᄉᆞᆼ〯 (Yale: sǒ)
Middle Korean
Text Eumhun
Gloss (hun) Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527 주글〮 (Yale: cwùkúl) ᄉᆞ〯 (Yale: sǒ)

Pronunciation

  • (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA(key):
  • Phonetic hangul:
    • Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

死 (eumhun 죽을 사 (jugeul sa))

  1. hanja form? of 사 (“death”)

Compounds

Compounds

References

  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Okinawan

Kanji

死

(Third grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Old Japanese

Etymology

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “From Proto-Japonic *si?”

Appears to be a conflation of an s- root cognate with 去る (saru, “to go, go away”) and Middle Chinese 死 (MC sijX).

Noun

死 (si) (kana し)

  1. death
    • c. 759, Man’yōshū:
      (book 5, preface to poem 897: melancholic poem by Yamanoue no Okura)
      帛公略說曰：「伏思自勵，以斯長生。生可レ貪也，死可レ畏也。...」
      (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Japanese: 死 (shi)

Vietnamese

Han character

死: Hán Nôm readings: tử, long

  1. death

Compounds

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