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英年早逝

Mandarin · pinyin yīng nián zǎo shì

to die an untimely death (idiom)
to be cut off in one's prime

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Characters in this entry

英: yīng · petal, flower, leaf; brave, a hero; England, English
年: nián · year; new-years; person's age
早: zǎo · early; soon; morning
逝: shì · pass away; die

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–2–3–4 · ying1 nian2 zao3 shi4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

jing1 nin4 zou2 sai6

Cantonese word readings for 英年早逝. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to pass away at the prime of one's life; to die young

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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