Definition
断气 literally means 'to stop breathing' and is a euphemism for death, especially when a person takes their last breath. It is a separable verb (离合词): you can insert 了, measure words, or other elements between 断 and 气 — for example, 断了气 ('breathed one's last'). The subject is typically a person, and it's often used in medical or narrative contexts.
v.o.
to breathe one's lastto die (of a person)
Examples
- 断气。Lǎorén yǐjīng kuàiyào duàn qì le.The old man is about to breathe his last.
- ，。Bìngrén zuówǎn duàn le qì, yīshēng jìnlì le.The patient passed away last night; the doctors did everything they could.
- ，。Tā yīnwèi zhòngbìng, bànyè lǐ duàn le qì.Due to a severe illness, he breathed his last in the middle of the night.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.