death

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 死 has 6 strokes and denotes death or appears in expressions of desperate effort.
• Basic usage: 死ぬ is read しぬ, and 必死 is read ひっし.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The verb's past form
  • 死んだ is the past form of 死ぬ, with final ぬ changing to んだ.
• Desperate action and expression
  • 必死に手足を動かした means that someone moved their arms and legs desperately.
  • 必死の表情 means a desperate expression.
  • In these examples, に marks the manner of the action, while の links the word to a noun.