Definition
死 (sǐ) as an adjective means 'rigid, inflexible' — used for fixed ideas or rules that won't change. This is distinct from 僵硬 (jiāngyìng, 'stiff, rigid' of objects/body parts) and 僵 (jiāng, 'stiff, deadlocked' of situations). As a verb complement (累死了), it means 'extremely, to death' in everyday speech.
to dieinflexiblerigidfixed(verb complement) extremelyto the point of death (colloquial)
Easily confused
- 葬zànglook-aliketo bury (the dead)
- 四sìsound-alikefour
- 列lièlook-alike(verb) to arrange, to line up, to list
- 丝sīsound-alikesilk
- 撕sīsound-aliketo tear
- 寺sìsound-alikeBuddhist temple
Examples
- 死。Nà zhǐ māo qùnián sǐ le.That cat died last year.
- 死，。Tā de xiǎngfǎ tài sǐ le, bú yuànyì gǎibiàn.His thinking is too rigid; he won't change.
- ，。Wǒ lèi sǐ le, xiǎng xiūxi yí xià.I'm extremely tired; I want to rest for a while.
Grammar
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