生死攸关
shēng sǐ yōu guān
a matter of life and death; of vital importance
Character by character
生shēng
life
life
死sǐ
death
death
攸yōu
that which
that which
关guān
concerns
concerns
Example
手术能不能按时做，对他来说生死攸关。
Whether the operation can go ahead on time is a matter of life and death for him.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
攸 is a classical word meaning roughly 所, so the phrase reads “what life and death hang on”. It works as a predicate (这件事生死攸关) or before 的 (生死攸关的时刻, 生死攸关的问题), literally of patients and rescues and figuratively of a company or a team's last match. 性命攸关 means the same.
Learn this in Lesson 154 · HSK 7–9: 拨打120 (Calling 120)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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