屍
corpse
Readings
On'yomi
- シ
Kun'yomi
- しかばね
Meaning
屍 centers on a dead body: a corpse. The meaning is concrete and specific, referring to the physical remains of a person or animal.
Most common words using 屍
- 屍しかばね
corpse
- 僵屍キョンシー
jiangshi; Chinese hopping vampire; reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore
- 死屍しし
corpse
- 屍をさらすしかばねをさらす
to die on the battlefield
- 屍体愛好したいあいこう
necrophilia
- 屍山血河しざんけつが
heaps of bodies and streams of blood; fierce battle
- 屍蝋しろう
adipocere (waxy substance formed by the decomposition of corpses subjected to moisture); grave wax
- 屍陀林王しだりんおう
Citipati (skeletal Buddhist demi-gods)
- 屍鬼しき
vetala; corpse demon; corpse ghost; ghoul
- 死屍累々ししるいるい
heaps of corpses all around
- 水漬く屍みづくかばね
dead bodies submerged in water (in war, esp. naval battles)
- 生ける屍いけるしかばね
living corpse
- 積屍気せきしき
Praesepe; Beehive Cluster
Study
Etymology
屍 combines 尸 (a body or corpse) with 死 (death), reinforcing the idea of a dead body. The character is a straightforward semantic compound.
Meaning mnemonic
The outer enclosure 尸 represents a body, and inside is 死 (death). Together they show a body that has died: a corpse.
Reading mnemonic
For シ, imagine a scene of a corpse (屍) and think of the word 'she' – but she is dead. 'She' cues シ.