TraceHanzi

牺牲 meaning in English

xīshēng

to sacrifice one's life; to sacrifice (sth valued)

HSK 6verbnounTraditional 犧牲19 strokes

Meaning of 牺牲

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

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

How to use 牺牲

Today 牺牲 usually means to give up time, health, or even one's life for someone or something else. It is also a respectful word for people who died on duty, such as soldiers or firefighters. Example: 她为了家庭牺牲了自己的事业。(Tā wèile jiātíng xīshēng le zìjǐ de shìyè.) She sacrificed her career for her family.

Both 牺 (xī) and 牲 (shēng) have the ox radical 牛 on the left, which fits the old sense of an animal offered as a sacrifice. Picture an ox being given up for a greater cause, and you have the modern meaning of giving up something valuable.

Common mistake: Learners often write 牲 with 生 alone or confuse it with 姓 (xìng, surname), which has 女 instead of 牛 on the left. Also, 牺牲 is a serious, formal word, so using it for small things like skipping a snack can sound overly dramatic.

牺牲 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

他tā救jiù了le那nà个ge婴yīng儿ér，但dàn是shì却què牺xī牲shēng了le自zì己jǐ的de生shēng命mìng。
He saved the baby at the cost of his life.
他tā以yǐ牺xī牲shēng自zì己jǐ的de健jiàn康kāng为wèi代dài价jià完wán成chéng了le这zhè项xiàng工gōng作zuò。
He did it at the expense of his health.
士shì兵bīng们men已yǐ经jīng准zhǔn备bèi好hǎo为wèi国guó牺xī牲shēng了le。
The soldiers were ready to die for their country.
他tā宁nìng可kě牺xī牲shēng生shēng命mìng，也yě不bù出chū卖mài组zǔ织zhī。
He would rather lose his life than betray his organization.
他tā与yǔ其qí牺xī牲shēng生shēng命mìng，不bù如rú出chū卖mài组zǔ织zhī。
He would rather betray his organization than lose his life.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

牺 xī · to sacrifice · 10 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

牲 shēng · sacrificial animal · 9 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9

Related words

Words that share a character with 牺牲.

牲畜shēngchùfarm animal; livestock
畜牲chùshēngvariant of 畜生[chu4 sheng5]
牺牲品xīshēngpǐnsacrificial victim; sb who is expendable
牲口shēngkouanimals used for their physical strength (mules, oxen etc); beast of burden
牺牲者xīshēngzhěsb who sacrifices himself; sacrificial victim

Questions about 牺牲

What does 牺牲 mean?

牺牲 (xīshēng) means "to sacrifice one's life; to sacrifice (sth valued)" and is used as a verb and noun.

How do you write 牺牲?

牺牲 is made of 2 characters: 牺 (10 strokes), 牲 (9 strokes). That is 19 strokes in total.

Is 牺牲 an HSK word?

Yes. 牺牲 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 牺牲 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 牺牲 is written 犧牲.

Can 牺牲 mean simply to die?

Yes, but only in a respectful way for someone who died for a cause, like a soldier or rescuer. For ordinary deaths, use 去世 (qùshì) or 死 (sǐ) instead.

How do I say I am a victim of something using this word?

Use 牺牲品 (xīshēngpǐn), meaning a sacrificial victim or someone treated as expendable. For example, 他成了政治斗争的牺牲品 means he became a victim of political struggle.

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