Chinese word

失踪

Pronunciation

Pinyinshī zōng

Meaning

  • verbgo missing

Example

他昨天失踪了。tā zuó tiān shī zōng le

He went missing yesterday.

Illustration for 失踪 (go missing)

More examples

警方接到报案，称他在离家后就失踪了，正在展开搜寻。jǐng fāng jiē dào bào àn chēng tā zài lí jiā hòu jiù shī zōng le zhèng zài zhǎn kāi sōu xún

Police received a report that he went missing after leaving home and have begun searching for him.

Core concept

A person's last known trail ends, and no confirmed location follows.

Common phrases

  • 突然失踪tū rán shī zōng

    suddenly go missing

  • 离家失踪lí jiā shī zōng

    go missing after leaving home

Similar words

失联shī lián: Become unreachable through phone calls, messages, or other communication channels.
下落不明xià luò bù míng: Be in a state where the whereabouts remain unknown.
消失xiāo shī: Suddenly disappear from sight or leave no visible trace.
销声匿迹xiāo shēng nì jì: Withdraw from public view for a long time without contact or trace.

Definition in Chinese

成为下落不明的状态，行踪无法确认。chéng wéi xià luò bù míng de zhuàng tài xíng zōng wú fǎ què rèn

Word origin

失踪 (shīzōng, "go missing") combines 失 (shī, "lose") with 踪 (zōng, "trace") to describe a person whose trace can no longer be followed.

Usage tips

  • News and police contexts commonly use this word, while a missed meeting or a temporarily misplaced item usually calls for a more ordinary expression.

Other meanings

  • disappearancenoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 失踪者shī zōng zhěmissing personnoun
  • 失踪案件shī zōng àn jiànmissing-person casenoun

Word lists with this word