Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

to die; inpassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid

Chinese: 死亡、固定不变或程度极深。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “si” becomes a different word in each tone. 死 is the 3rd tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 死亡sǐ wángto die; death
  • 生死shēng sǐlife or death
  • 死心sǐ xīnto give up; to admit failure; to drop the matter; to reconcile oneself to loss
  • 死心塌地sǐ xīn tā dìto be hell-bent on; dead set on sth; unswerving
  • 死人sǐ réndead person; (coll.) to die; (of a death) to happen

Example Sentence

花园里的花都枯死了。Huā yuán lǐ de huā dōu kū sǐ le.The flowers in the garden have all withered.

Huāfloweryuánland used for growing planinsidedeof花都huā dōualternative name for Paris(of plants) witheredto diele(completed action)

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

歹 (bare, broken bones) beside 匕 (a person bowed down): a person reduced to bones. It means ‘to die / death’.

A way to remember it

A person bowed beside bare bones — death.

Easy to confuse with

  • huó‘To live’: the opposite — water (氵) and a tongue (舌), full of life.