死
sǐ · HSK 3
die
💀 歹 (bad/bone fragment) + 匕 (person) = a person reduced to bones
The left 歹 is a pictograph of broken bones, and 匕 here depicts a kneeling figure. Together they spell out the end of a life. Sound sǐ falls on third tone — a low dip, fitting for a heavy word.
死 — 歹 (bare bones) + 匕 (kneeling person)
Originally a pictograph showing a living person (匕) beside skeletal remains (歹), depicting someone mourning or kneeling next to a corpse. The combination came to mean 'death' or 'to die.' The 歹 component, derived from a bone fragment, signals the death-related meaning across many related characters.