催命 (cuī mìng) — to urge somebody relentlessly, to be on someone's case

Definition

A vivid, colloquial phrase for pestering someone relentlessly — stronger and more colorful than plain 催 ('urge'). Often used as 催命似地 to describe pressuring someone at a frantic pace.

verb
to urge somebody relentlesslyto be on someone's case

Examples

  • 催命，。
    Bié cuī mìng le, wǒ mǎ shàng jiù hǎo.
    Stop rushing me, I'll be ready in a moment.
  • ，。
    Tā tiān tiān zài wǒ ěr biān cuī wǒ de mìng, ràng wǒ zǎo diǎn jié hūn.
    He's constantly on my case every day, urging me to get married soon.
  • 催命。
    Lǎo bǎn cuī mìng shì de cuī wǒ men jiāo bào gào.
    The boss is pressing us like crazy to submit the report.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

催cuīurge
命mìnglife

催 means to urge, and 命 is life, so it suggests urging someone as if life depended on it.

Characters in this word

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
崔
崔cuī催cuī
Same sound today

催 combines 亻, the person part, with 崔, which gives the sound.

Open 催 →

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 →

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