Definition
死活 has two distinct uses. As a noun, it means 'life and death' (literally 'death or survival'), often extended to 'fate' or 'critical stakes'. More commonly in colloquial speech, it functions as an adverb meaning 'no matter what / anyway / simply (refusing)': you can say 我死活不去 ('I flatly refuse to go') to emphasize stubbornness. The noun use keeps its literal meaning; the adverb use is far more frequent in everyday conversation.
n.
life and deathfate(colloquial, adverb) no matter whatanywaysimply (refusing or insisting at all cost)
Examples
- 死活，。Zhè shì guānxì dào gōngsī de sǐ huó, dàjiā yídìng yào rènzhēn duìdài.This matter concerns the life and death of the company, so everyone must take it seriously.
- 死活，。Wǒ sǐ huó bù tóngyì tā de kànfǎ, tài jíduān le.I simply cannot agree with his view — it's too extreme.
- ，死活。Māma jiào tā chīfàn, tā sǐ huó bùkěn chūlái.Mom called him to eat, but he just refused to come out no matter what.
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