死去活来 (sǐ qù huó lái) — (figurative) to be in extreme distress; to be heartbroken or devastated; (literal) to hover between life and death; to be at death's door
Definition
An idiom for extreme emotional or physical distress — 'in terrible agony / crying one's heart out.' Almost always follows a verb (e.g. 哭得、痛得) to intensify the feeling, not a literal medical state.
idiom
(figurative) to be in extreme distressto be heartbroken or devastated(literal) to hover between life and deathto be at death's door
Examples
- 死去活来，。Tā kū dé sǐ qù huó lái, shuí quàn dōu méi yǒu yòng.She cried her heart out; nobody's comfort could help.
- ，死去活来。Tīng dào zhè ge xiāo xi, tā tòng kǔ dé sǐ qù huó lái.Hearing the news, he was in excruciating pain.
- ，，死去活来。Zài zhàn chǎng shàng, tā jǐ cì shòu shāng, sǐ qù huó lái dì zhēng zhá zhe huó le xià lái.On the battlefield, he was wounded several times and struggled between life and death to survive.
Appears in
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