自杀
zìshā · HSK 5
commit suicide
自杀 = self (自) + kill (杀)
自 means self (originally a drawing of a nose, which Chinese speakers point to when referring to themselves). 杀 means kill. Together: self-kill, i.e. suicide.
自 — pictograph of a nose
自 originally depicted a human nose, shown frontally with the bridge and nostrils. Ancient Chinese pointed to their own nose to mean 'me,' so 自 shifted to mean 'self' or 'oneself.' A new character 鼻 was later created to carry the original 'nose' meaning.
杀 — 刂 knife radical + 朩 phonetic
杀 (shā) means 'to kill.' The traditional form 殺 shows a hand wielding a weapon (殳) beside a phonetic element. The simplified form keeps a reduced phonetic 朩 over 朩, with the knife radical 刂 originally implied through the weapon component, signaling violent action.