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要命 (yào mìng) — (used as complement after 得) extremely; terribly; unbearably; (exclamation) what a nuisance; damn it (expressing frustration); (literal, rare) to cause someone's death; to be fatal

Definition

Used as a 得-complement, 慌 carries the same 'unbearably' meaning; 慌 is adjective, 要命 is a verb phrase meaning 'fatal/to death' or an exclamation of frustration.

verb
(used as complement after 得) extremelyterriblyunbearably(exclamation) what a nuisancedamn it (expressing frustration)(literal, rare) to cause someone's deathto be fatal

Examples

  • 要命。
    Zhè wèn tí nán dé yào mìng.
    This problem is terribly difficult.
  • 要命，！
    yào mìng, Yòu xià yǔ le!
    What a nuisance, it's raining again!
  • 要命。
    Tā zuì jìn máng dé yào mìng.
    He's been extremely busy lately.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

要yàodemand or take
命mìnglife

要 means demand or take, and 命 means life; literally it can take a life, hence something unbearable.

Characters in this word

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

要 began as a drawing of a person with both hands pointing to the waist.

Open 要 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Comparison & Degree

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.