死 (sǐ): to die, impassable, uncrossable
死 (sǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to die.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 歹 (structural) and 匕 (structural). It ranks #317 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 死 a person kneeling 匕 before a corpse 歹. Its radical form 歹 (death) appears in many related characters such as 殊 (shū, (literary) to kill), 残 (cán, to destroy), 殖 (zhí, to grow).
Definitions
- to die
- impassable
- uncrossable
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person kneeling 匕 before a corpse 歹
Decomposition: ⿸歹匕 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 死 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 死
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 该死verb | gāi sǐ | Damn it! |
| 杀死verb | shā sǐ | to kill |
| 死者noun | sǐ zhě | the dead |
| 死去verb | sǐ qù | to die |
| 死刑noun | sǐ xíng | death penalty |
| 死因noun | sǐ yīn | cause of death |
| 生死verb | shēng sǐ | life or death |
| 死神noun | sǐ shén | mythological figure (such as the Grim Reaper) in charge of taking the souls of those who die |
| 淹死verb | yān sǐ | to drown |
| 死人noun | sǐ rén | dead person |
| 致死verb | zhì sǐ | to cause death |
| 处死verb | chǔ sǐ | an execution |
| 冻死verb | dòng sǐ | to freeze to death |
| 死尸noun | sǐ shī | corpse |
| 气死verb | qì sǐ | to infuriate |
死 appears in 115 compound words: 37 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 6 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 死 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (53)
lit. born in the morning and dying at dusk (idiom); fig. ephemeral; transient
from the cradle to the grave (idiom); to go through fire and water; brave; willing to risk life and limb
to grieve for the sick and the dying; to show great concern for people's suffering
who will win the prize; who will gain supremacy; who will emerge as the victor
from the cradle to the grave (idiom); to go through fire and water; brave; willing to risk life and limb
lit. born in the morning and dying at dusk (idiom); fig. ephemeral; transient
who will win the prize; who will gain supremacy; who will emerge as the victor
Showing 12 of 53 idioms containing 死.
Example Sentences
老师教我们死字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men sǐ zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "死."
弗吉尼亚州里士满发生枪击事件 两人死亡
弗 jí ní yà zhōu lǐ shì mǎn fā shēng qiāng jī shì jiàn liǎng rén sǐ wáng
Two people were killed in a shooting in Richmond, Virginia
到底有多正?男大生载到班花夜冲险猝死
dào de yǒu duō zhèng ? nán dà shēng zài dào bān huā yè chōng xiǎn 猝 sǐ
How good is it? The male college student died suddenly at night in class
中国观光巴士坠湖酿8死 旅团业者未注册
zhōng guó guàn guāng bā shì zhuì hú niàng 8 sǐ lǚ tuán yè zhě wèi zhù cè
China's sightseeing bus fell into the lake and caused 8 deaths, and the tour operator was not registered
牙痛要人命!蛀牙不补死亡风险增1.7倍
yá tòng yāo rén mìng ! zhù yá bù bǔ sǐ wáng fēng xiǎn zēng 1 . 7 bèi
Toothache can kill people! The risk of death without tooth decay increased by 1.7 times
港男陈尸五星饭店 房内留心酸字条死因曝
gǎng nán chén shī wǔ xīng fàn diàn fáng nèi liú xīn suān zì tiáo sǐ yīn pù
Hong Kong man Chen Shi five-star hotel pay attention to the sour note in the room The cause of death was exposed
死是唯一的解脱吗？
Sǐ shì wéiyī de jiětuō ma?
Is death the only release?
蜜蜂蜇人后为什么会死去呢？
Mìfēng zhē rén hòu wèishénme huìsǐ qù ne?
Why do bees die after stinging?
该死的！你吓死我了！
Gāisǐ de! nǐ xià sǐ wǒ le!
Shit! You scared me half to death!
他儿子小时候就死于癌症了。
Tā érzi xiǎoshíhou jiù sǐ yú áizhèng le.
His son died from cancer at a young age.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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Is 死 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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