死 (sǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to die”. It is written from 歹 (bad; evil) and 匕 (ancient spoon; dagger), one enclosing the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “to die”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
歹 + 匕
Enclosing structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺：笔画1–4＝歹，笔画5–6＝匕）
Memory aid
The 歹 (bad, ill-omened) frame leans over from the upper left, and a small 匕 (an old spoon or dagger) is tucked into the corner underneath it. Something bad has closed over the blade — that is 死, dead.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 死亡sǐ wángdeath; to die死 = sǐ
- 死刑sǐ xíngthe death penalty死 = sǐ
- 杀死shā sǐto kill (so that the target dies)死 = sǐ
- 淹死yān sǐto drown死 = sǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to die
to die; dead; (of something) fixed, rigid, impassable; extremely
失去生命；不再活着。也表示固定不变、不能通过，或用在形容词后表示程度极深。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 死亡sǐ wángdeath; to die死 = sǐ
- 死刑sǐ xíngthe death penalty死 = sǐ
- 杀死shā sǐto kill (so that the target dies)死 = sǐ
- 淹死yān sǐto drown死 = sǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 死 mean?
死 (sǐ) means to die; dead; (of something) fixed, rigid, impassable; extremely.
How do you pronounce 死?
It is pronounced sǐ.
What parts is 死 made of?
歹 (bad; evil) and 匕 (ancient spoon; dagger), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔顺：笔画1–4＝歹，笔画5–6＝匕）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 死 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 死?
歹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 死?
Common ones are 死亡 and 死刑. The reading of 死 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.