不顾死活 (bú gù sǐ huó) — reckless, foolhardy, without regard for life or death

Definition

An idiom meaning 'reckless, with no regard for life or death.' It describes bold, all-in action — heroic sacrifice or reckless risk-taking. Common pattern: ∼地 + verb.

idiom
recklessfoolhardywithout regard for life or death

Examples

  • ，不顾死活。
    Tā wèi le jiù hái zi, bú gù sǐ huó dì chōng jìn huǒ hǎi.
    He rushed into the sea of fire recklessly to save the child.
  • 不顾死活，。
    Zhè xiē tàn xiǎn jiā bú gù sǐ huó dì pān dēng xuán yá, ràng rén niē yì bǎ hàn.
    These explorers climbed the cliff without regard for death, making people nervous.
  • 不顾死活，。
    Tā tóu zī shí bú gù sǐ huó, bǎ suǒ yǒu qián dōu yā zài le yí gè gāo fēng xiǎn xiàng mù shàng.
    When investing, he was reckless, betting all his money on a high-risk project.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

不顾not regard
不bùnot顾gùregard
偏正Modifier + head
死活life and death
死sǐdeath活huólife
联合Side by side

不 (not) and 顾 (regard) combine with 死活 (life and death) to describe reckless disregard.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The picture in 不 originally showed a flower’s calyx; the “no” sense came later from a related character, not from this picture.

Open 不 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 顧; 顾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
雇
雇gù顧gù
Same sound today

The traditional form 顧 combines 雇 as a sound part and 頁 as a meaning part; 顾 is the simplified form of 顧.

Open 顾 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
歹歹dǎi
Sound part声符shēngfú
尸
尸shī死sǐ
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

死 is built from 歹 and 尸: 歹 is the part tied to the meaning, and 尸 gives the sound.

Open 死 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𠯑
𠯑𠯑活huó
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Open 活 →

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