葬

• Pinyin: zàng
• Hanzi breakdown: 葬 = 艸 (grass/vegetation, top) + 死 (death) + 廾 (hands, bottom) — burial in nature

Meaning

To bury; to inter; to entomb. To place a deceased person or their remains in the ground or a tomb as part of a funeral rite.

A formal and solemn verb used in ritual, literary, and official contexts. Compounds include 下葬 (to bury/inter), 安葬 (to lay to rest), 厚葬 (to bury with great ceremony), 葬身 (to perish and be buried in). Rarely used in casual speech; contexts are invariably funereal or metaphorical.

Examples

1. 将士们在战场上英勇牺牲，最终被安葬于故乡的山岗之上，长眠于此。 The soldiers died bravely on the battlefield and were ultimately laid to rest on the hills of their hometown, sleeping here forever.
2. 根据遗嘱，老人希望死后以最简朴的方式下葬，不立碑，不摆宴席。 According to his will, the elderly man hoped to be buried in the simplest way after death—no headstone and no banquet.
3. 那艘沉船连同船员一起葬身深海，成为历史上难以抹去的悲剧。 That shipwreck, along with its crew, was buried in the deep sea, becoming a tragedy that history cannot erase.

Usage Guide

Context: funerals, history, literature, military commemoration

Tone: solemn

Do Say

• 烈士们牺牲后，被庄重地安葬于革命公墓，供后人缅怀凭吊。(After the martyrs fell, they were solemnly interred in the revolutionary cemetery for future generations to pay their respects.)
• 他在遗嘱中明确表示希望葬于故乡的土地上，与祖辈为伴。(He stated clearly in his will that he wished to be buried in his hometown, resting alongside his ancestors.)

Don't Say

• 葬掉垃圾 — 葬 is reserved for the interment of human or animal remains in a funerary sense; use 扔掉 or 处理 for disposing of objects

Origin & History

艸 (grass) + 死 (death) + 廾 (hands) — original pictograph of a corpse laid in vegetation

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal