僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸
jiāngshī
In Chinese, the word for zombie can be expressed as 僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸 (jiāngshī) or 喪屍 / 丧尸.
Meaning: the undead (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸 | jiāngshī |
| 喪屍 / 丧尸 | sàngshī |
What does it mean word for word?
The word 僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸 (jiāngshī) literally means 'stiff corpse'. The word 喪屍 / 丧尸 (sàngshī) literally means 'lost/dead corpse'.
Which one should you use?
僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸 (jiāngshī) specifically refers to the traditional Chinese hopping vampire/zombie from folklore, whereas 喪屍 / 丧尸 (sàngshī) refers to the modern Western-style 'walking dead' zombies.
How do you pronounce it?
jiāngshī
When do people say it?
In Chinese folklore, a 僵屍 / 僵尸 or 殭屍 / 僵尸 is typically depicted as a corpse that moves by hopping with its arms outstretched.
Did you know?
- Some legends claim that 僵屍 can be controlled by a 'corpse driver' who uses a special bell to lead them as if they were livestock.
- Traditional 僵屍 are often depicted wearing the official robes of a Qing Dynasty mandarin, which explains their stiff, formal appearance.
- Unlike Western zombies that eat brains, traditional 僵屍 are known to feed on the 'qi' or life force of living humans.
Examples in context
- 他们研究了关于僵尸产生的原因。They researched the reasons behind the generation of zombies.
- 僵尸在恐怖电影中是一个常见的角色。Zombies are common characters in horror movies.
- 请谨慎对待僵尸传闻，这往往只是无稽之谈。Please treat zombie rumors with caution, as they are often baseless.
- 我们昨晚看了一部关于丧尸的电影。Last night we watched a movie about zombies.
- 这个新游戏真刺激，我一直在与活死人战斗。This new game is so exciting, I've been battling with the living dead.
- 真不敢相信，他变成了行尸走肉！I can't believe it, he turned into a walking corpse!
Sources
- Wiktionary, “zombie” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
