Chinese word

去世

Pronunciation

Pinyinqù shì

Meaning

  • verbpass away

Example

他昨天去世了。tā zuó tiān qù shì le

He passed away yesterday.

Illustration for 去世 (pass away)

More examples

听说他上个月因病去世了。tīng shuō tā shàng gè yuè yīn bìng qù shì le

I heard he passed away from illness last month.

Core concept

A quiet departure from the human world marks the end of a person's life without blunt wording.

Common phrases

  • 父亲去世fù qīn qù shì

    father passes away

  • 因病去世yīn bìng qù shì

    pass away from illness

  • 去世了qù shì le

    passed away

Similar words

死sǐ: A direct, plain verb for saying that a person's life has ended.
逝世shì shì: A formal and respectful verb for saying that someone has died.
过世guò shì: A gentle, everyday verb for saying that someone has died.

Definition in Chinese

表示某人生命结束、离开人间的委婉说法，语气比“死”柔和。biǎo shì mǒu rén shēng mìng jié shù lí kāi rén jiān de wéi wǎn shuō fǎ yǔ qì bǐ sǐ róu hé

Word origin

去 (qù, "leave") + 世 (shì, "the world") creates the image of leaving the world, making this a respectful way to refer to death.

Usage tips

  • For everyday conversation, register matters: this verb sounds considerate and formal enough for sensitive news, whereas a very direct verb can sound noticeably harsher.

Other meanings

  • dieverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word