墓碑

• Pinyin: mù bēi
• Hanzi breakdown: 墓 = 莫(evening/hidden, phonetic) + 土(earth) — a burial mound; 碑 = 石(stone) + 卑(low/humble, phonetic) — a stone stele

Meaning

A gravestone; a tombstone erected at a burial site to commemorate the deceased.

Carries deep cultural significance in China, where ancestor veneration is central to Confucian values. Gravestones typically bear the name, dates, and sometimes a brief epitaph. Often used figuratively to discuss memory, legacy, and the passage of time.

Examples

1. 清明节前后，人们纷纷来到墓地，在先人的墓碑前献花祭扫，寄托哀思。 Around Qingming Festival, people come to the cemetery to lay flowers and pay their respects at their ancestors' gravestones, expressing their grief.
2. 那块古老的墓碑上刻满了风化的汉字，记录着一位清代官员的生平与功绩。 That ancient gravestone is covered with weathered Chinese characters, recording the life and achievements of a Qing-dynasty official.
3. 她轻轻抚摸着父亲的墓碑，泪水无声地滑落，心中涌起无尽的思念与不舍。 She gently touched her father's gravestone as tears silently fell, her heart filling with endless longing and reluctance to let go.

Usage Guide

Context: funerary culture, ancestor veneration, history, literature

Tone: solemn/respectful

Do Say

• 工人们在修缮古墓时意外发现了一块雕刻精美的墓碑，碑文详细记载了墓主人的家族世系与生平事迹。(While repairing the ancient tomb, workers unexpectedly discovered a finely carved gravestone whose inscription detailed the lineage and life events of the tomb's occupant.)
• 设计简洁而庄重的墓碑，往往比华丽繁复的石雕更能体现出对逝者深沉而真挚的悼念之情。(A gravestone that is simple yet solemn in design often conveys a deeper and more sincere sense of mourning than an ornate and elaborate stone carving.)

Don't Say

• 把'墓碑'用于指牌匾或纪念牌 (墓碑 specifically refers to a stone marker at a grave — use 纪念碑 for public memorials and 牌匾 for plaques on buildings)

Origin & History

墓(grave/tomb) + 碑(stone stele/monument). 墓 depicts earth (土) above the character 莫 (evening/obscured) — a burial mound; 碑 is a stone (石) stele for inscription.

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal