Definition
九死一生 is a four-character idiom that literally means 'nine deaths, one life'. It describes a situation where someone has gone through extreme danger or multiple life-threatening events and only barely survived — a narrow escape or a close call. You can use it to describe a harrowing experience, an accident, or a difficult battle. The image is of surviving against overwhelming odds.
f.e.
to have a narrow escape from deatha close callto survive against all odds
Examples
- 九死一生，。Nà cì chēhuò zhēn shì jiǔ sǐ yī shēng, xiànzài xiǎng qǐlái hái hòupà.That car accident was a real close call; I still get scared thinking about it.
- 九死一生。Tā cóng zhànchǎng shàng jiǔ sǐ yī shēng de huó le xiàlái.He survived the battlefield against all odds.
- 九死一生，。Zhège tànxiǎn duì jīnglì le jiǔ sǐ yī shēng, zhōngyú zǒu chū le shāmò.The expedition team went through a narrow escape and finally got out of the desert.
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