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誓

shì
noun #5,103

Meanings

  1. 1 oath
  2. 2 vow
  3. 3 to swear

Examples

HSK 3
我发誓再也不迟到了。
Wǒ fāshì zàiyě bù chídào le.
I swear I'll never be late again.
HSK 6
他们在婚礼上立了誓。
Tāmen zài hūnlǐ shàng lì le shì.
They took their vows at the wedding.

Tips

usage
Common compounds: 发誓 (to swear/vow), 宣誓 (to take an oath), 誓言 (an oath/pledge).

Components

radical
言 yán
speech (radical)
Bottom indexing radical 言 - speech, the meaning anchor. An oath is fundamentally a binding utterance. Note 誓 keeps the full 7-stroke 言 (not the simplified 讠), preserving the formal weight appropriate for a solemn vow. Same full radical sits in 警 to warn, 誉 honor, 詹 verbose.
phonetic
折 zhé
to break (phonetic + semantic)
Top component 折 (to break) - supplies the sound (zhé drifted to shì in modern Mandarin, though Old Chinese was closer) and adds vivid resonance: oaths in ancient China were often sealed by breaking an arrow or tally stick. So 誓 = ritual-breaking + speech = sworn oath.

Stroke Order

誓 shì