Definition
This is a four-character idiom (成语) meaning that someone's crimes are so heinous that even death is insufficient punishment — literally 'even death leaves a surplus of guilt'. You use it to condemn extremely evil deeds, often in formal or literary contexts. It's a fixed expression, not a productive pattern.
idiom
even death cannot atone for one's crimesextremely heinous
Examples
- 死有余辜，。Zhège zuìfàn fànxià de zuìxíng sǐ yǒu yú gū, bìxū shòudào zuì yánlì de chéngfá.The crimes committed by this criminal are so heinous that even death cannot atone for them; he must receive the harshest punishment.
- ，死有余辜。Lìshǐ shū shàng jìzǎi de nàxiē bàojūn, zhēn shì sǐ yǒu yú gū.The tyrants recorded in history books are truly beyond redemption even in death.
- ，死有余辜。Tā wèile qiáncái shāhài wúgū, zhè zhǒng èxíng sǐ yǒu yú gū.He killed innocent people for money — such evil deeds cannot be expiated even by death.
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