KanjiGami
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39

Death, To Die

し(ぬ) (shinu)

JLPT N4

Interesting Fact

🏥 In Japan, the number 4 is often avoided because it's pronounced shi (し), the same pronunciation as 死, meaning "death." Many hospitals, hotels, and apartment buildings skip room 4 or the fourth floor entirely, much like some Western buildings avoid the number 13.

Memory Trick

🤠🔫 Imagine the two sides of 死 as two cowboys standing back-to-back with loaded revolvers. The duel begins, and the inevitable outcome is death.

Readings

Onyomi: シ (shi)

Kunyomi: し(ぬ) (shinu)

Example Words

死ぬ
しぬ (shinu)
To die
死亡
しぼう (shibou)
Death
必死
ひっし (hisshi)
Desperate
死者
ししゃ (shisha)
Deceased person

Example Sentence

植物が 水なしで 死にました。

しょくぶつが みずなしで しにました。

shokubutsu ga mizu nashi de shinimashita

The plant died without water.

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