牺牲

xī shēng

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Common

Definitions

1. to sacrifice one's life
2. to sacrifice (sth valued)
3. beast slaughtered as a sacrifice

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 存活 cún huó 存活 cún huó to survive (a serious accident) 牺牲 implies death or loss; 存活 means to survive or stay alive.: to survive (a serious accident)

Related words

1 item

• 殉职 xùn zhí 殉职 xùn zhí to die in the line of duty 殉职 specifically means dying in the line of duty or while working.: to die in the line of duty

Usage notes

Collocations

牺牲 is frequently used in the structure 为...牺牲 (to sacrifice for...) or 作出牺牲 (to make a sacrifice).

Common mistakes

牺牲 is often used incorrectly by learners who use it for trivial losses (e.g., 'I sacrificed my weekend'). In Chinese, it carries a heavy connotation of life loss or a very great cost, and overuse in light contexts sounds unnatural.

Example Sentences

1 shown

士兵们壮烈 牺牲 了。

The soldiers died a heroic death.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Words Containing 牺牲

• 牺牲品 牺牲品 xī shēng pǐn: sacrificial victim
• 牺牲打 牺牲打 xī shēng dǎ: sacrifice hit (in sport, e.g. baseball)
• 牺牲者 牺牲者 xī shēng zhě: sb who sacrifices himself
• 英勇牺牲 英勇牺牲 yīng yǒng xī shēng: to heroically sacrifice one's life

Child Words of 牺牲

• 牲 牲 shēng: domestic animal
• 牺 牺 xī: sacrifice