Chinese word

死亡

Pronunciation

Pinyinsǐ wáng

Meaning

  • verbdie

Example

听说他在车祸中死亡了。tīng shuō tā zài chē huò zhōng sǐ wáng le

I heard that he died in a car accident.

Illustration for 死亡 (die)

More examples

这场爆炸造成多人死亡。zhè chǎng bào zhà zào chéng duō rén sǐ wáng

Many people died in the explosion.

Core concept

A living being's life coming to a complete stop, treated as a definite factual event.

Common phrases

  • 在车祸中死亡zài chē huò zhōng sǐ wáng

    die in a car accident

  • 因事故死亡yīn shì gù sǐ wáng

    die in an accident

  • 在洪水中死亡zài hóng shuǐ zhōng sǐ wáng

    die in a flood

Similar words

死sǐ: States directly that a living being has died.
去世qù shì: Refers gently and respectfully to a person's death, especially for the family's sake.
过世guò shì: Refers indirectly to a person's death in everyday conversation or a death notice.
丧生sàng shēng: Refers to losing one's life through war, an accident, or another harmful event.

Definition in Chinese

表示人或动物生命的终止，也可作名词表示死亡的事实或人数，语体偏正式。biǎo shì rén huò dòng wù shēng mìng de zhōng zhǐ yě kě zuò míng cí biǎo shì sǐ wáng de shì shí huò rén shù yú tǐ piān zhèng shì

Word origin

The compound 死 (sǐ, "die") + 亡 (wáng, "perish or be lost") presents the loss of life as a completed event, which helps explain the word's formal tone.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may use the plain verb "die" across many situations, but this Chinese word often belongs to factual or institutional language rather than warm personal conversation.

Opposites

Related words

  • 死亡人数sǐ wáng rén shùdeath tollnoun
  • 死亡事故sǐ wáng shì gùfatal accidentnoun

Word lists with this word