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半死不活 (bàn sǐ bù huó) — half-dead; listless; barely functioning

Definition

An idiom for being half-dead or barely functioning — a person drained of energy, a plant on the verge of dying, or a business barely surviving. As vivid as 半途而废 is about quitting midway, this one paints a picture of exhaustion or collapse.

idiom
half-deadlistlessbarely functioning

Examples

  • ，半死不活，。
    Tā bìng le yì chǎng, zhěng gè rén bàn sǐ bù huó de, yì diǎn jīng shén dōu méi yǒu.
    He was sick and is half-dead, with no energy at all.
  • 半死不活，。
    Zhè pén huā yǐ jīng bàn sǐ bù huó le, gǎn jǐn jiāo shuǐ shì shì.
    This potted plant is half-dead; water it quickly and see.
  • 半死不活，。
    Gōng sī jīng yíng dé bàn sǐ bù huó, kuài yào dǎo bì le.
    The company is barely surviving; it's about to go bankrupt.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

半死half-dead
半bànhalf死sǐdead
偏正Modifier + head
不活not alive
不bùnot活huóalive
偏正Modifier + head

半 and 死 give half-dead, while 不 and 活 say not alive, together yielding a listless, barely functioning state.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 八 (to divide) with 牛 (cow), showing a cow cut into two halves.

Open 半 →

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 →

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.

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 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set Phrases

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