逝 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “(of time, water, etc”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 折 (to break; to fold), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to pass; to pass away”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
辶 + 折
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字：逝，往也。从辵折聲。IDS 拆分 ⿺辶折，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–6 为「折」（横、竖钩、提、撇、撇、横、竖），笔画 7–9 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）
Memory aid
The road radical 辶 carries 折, "to break off": once something has walked away down the road and broken off from you, it is gone — 逝 means to pass by, to pass away.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 逝世shì shìto pass away (formal, respectful)逝 = shì
- 流逝liú shì(of time) to pass; to elapse; to slip away逝 = shì
Go deeper
All readings
to pass; to pass away
(of time, water, etc.) to pass; to go by; to elapse; (formal) to pass away, to die
（时间、流水等）过去，消失。也指人死去。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 逝世shì shìto pass away (formal, respectful)逝 = shì
- 流逝liú shì(of time) to pass; to elapse; to slip away逝 = shì
Sound component
折 family diverged
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 逝 mean?
逝 (shì) means (of time, water, etc.) to pass; to go by; to elapse; (formal) to pass away, to die.
How do you pronounce 逝?
It is pronounced shì.
What parts is 逝 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 折 (to break; to fold), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：逝，往也。从辵折聲。IDS 拆分 ⿺辶折，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–6 为「折」（横、竖钩、提、撇、撇、横、竖），笔画 7–9 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 逝 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 逝?
辶. 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 逝?
Common ones are 逝世 and 流逝. The reading of 逝 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.