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人命关天 (rén mìng guān tiān) — (idiom) a matter of life and death; extremely serious (when human life is at stake)

Definition

Set phrase emphasizing that something concerns human life and is therefore extremely serious. Used in safety, medical, or legal contexts where carelessness is unacceptable.

idiom
a matter of life and deathextremely serious (when human life is at stake)

Examples

  • 人命关天，。
    Zhè jiàn shì rén mìng guān tiān, bù néng mǎ hu.
    This matter is a matter of life and death; we cannot be careless.
  • ，人命关天，。
    Zài gōng dì shàng, rén mìng guān tiān, ān quán dì yī.
    On the construction site, human life is paramount; safety comes first.
  • 人命关天，。
    Yī shēng men zhī dào rén mìng guān tiān, suǒ yǐ zhēng fēn duó miǎo dì qiǎng jiù.
    The doctors know it's a matter of life and death, so they race against time to rescue.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

人命human life
人rénhuman命mìnglife
偏正Modifier + head
关天concerns heaven
关guānconcern天tiānheaven
动宾Verb + object

“人命” is human life, and “关天” says it concerns heaven, so the sense is extremely serious.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng命mìng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

命 combines 口, a mouth, with 令, which gives the sound.

Open 命 →

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 關; 关 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
門門méndoor
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢇅
𢇅𢇅關guān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 关, the traditional form 關 shows 門 as a door and 𢇅 as two wooden sticks locking it, with ring-like marks on top.

Open 关 →

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
大大dà
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng天tiān
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The shape comes from a frontal standing man 大 with a head; 天 pairs 大 with 丁 for sound.

Open 天 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSafety & Danger

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