断气

斷氣

duànqì

verb #18,865

Meanings

1 to breathe one's last
2 to die
3 to stop breathing

Characters

to break; to cut off

Literally 'cut off breath' - to stop breathing.

Examples

HSK 2

送到医院的时候，他已经断气了。

Sòngdào yīyuàn de shíhou, tā yǐjīng duànqì le.

By the time he was taken to the hospital, he had already breathed his last.

HSK 4

老人在睡梦中安静地断了气。

Lǎorén zài shuìmèng zhōng ānjìng de duàn le qì.

The old man passed away quietly in his sleep.

Tips

register

断气 is fairly direct and blunt about death - it literally describes breathing stopping. More euphemistic alternatives include 去世 (to pass away) or 走了 (gone). In casual speech it can also be used hyperbolically: 热得快断气了 (so hot I could die).

Stroke Order

断 duàn

气 qì