起死回生
qǐ sǐ huí shēng
to bring the dead back to life; to rescue a hopeless case
Character by character
起qǐ
raise
raise
死sǐ
dead
dead
回huí
return
return
生shēng
life
life
Example
这家工厂本来快倒闭了，新厂长上任才两年，竟然让它起死回生。
The factory was on the verge of closing, yet within two years of the new manager taking over it had come back from the dead.
Tone: positive (praise).
Usage and origin
Once praise for a great doctor (医术高明，能起死回生); now mostly said of rescuing a company, a team, an economy or a lost cause. Compare 妙手回春 (lesson 2-7), which is said only of doctors.
Learn this in Lesson 240 · HSK 9+: 昆曲《牡丹亭》 (Kunqu and The Peony Pavilion)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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