九死一生

Chinese

		nine	to die; impassable; uncrossable to die; impassable; uncrossable; inflexible; rigid	one; single; a one; single; a; (before verbs) as soon as, once; (before a noun) entire (family, etc.)	to be born; to give birth; life to be born; to give birth; life; to grow; student; raw
trad. (九死一生)		九	死	一	生
simp. ^#(九死一生)		九	死	一	生

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): jiǔsǐyīshēng

(Zhuyin): ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄙˇ ㄧㄕㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): gau² sei² jat¹ sang¹
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): kiú-sú-it-seng

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: jiǔsǐyīshēng [Phonetic: jiúsǐyìshēng]
  - Zhuyin: ㄐㄧㄡˇ ㄙˇ ㄧㄕㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: jiǒusǐhyisheng
  - Wade–Giles: chiu³-ssŭ³-i¹-shêng¹
  - Yale: jyǒu-sž-yī-shēng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: jeousyyisheng
  - Palladius: цзюсыишэн (czjusyišɛn)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ sz̩²¹⁴⁻²¹ i⁵⁵⁻⁵¹ ʂɤŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: gau² sei² jat¹ sang¹
  - Yale: gáu séi yāt sāng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gau² sei² jat⁷ sang¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: geo² séi² yed¹ seng¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɐu̯³⁵ sei̯³⁵ jɐt̚⁵ sɐŋ⁵⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kiú-sú-it-seng
  - Tâi-lô: kiú-sú-it-sing
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kiwswitsefng
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /kiu⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ su⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ it̚³²⁻⁴ siɪŋ⁴⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /kiu⁵³⁻⁴⁴ su⁵³⁻⁴⁴ it̚³²⁻⁴ siɪŋ⁴⁴/

Idiom

九死一生

narrow escape from death
- 彈指三十八年，人間變了，似天淵地覆。猶記當時烽火里，九死一生如昨。 [Ci, trad.]
  弹指三十八年，人间变了，似天渊地覆。犹记当时烽火里，九死一生如昨。 [Ci, simp.]
  From: 1965 May, first published in Selected Poems of Mao Zedong (People's Literature Publishing House, Sept. 1986),《念奴嬌•井岡山》(To the tune of Charm of Maiden Niannu: Jinggangshan)
  Tánzhǐ sānshíbā nián, rénjiān biàn le, sì tiānyuān dìfù. Yóu jì dāngshí fēnghuǒ lǐ, jiǔsǐyīshēng rú zuó. [Pinyin]
  As if with a snap of fingers
  Past are thirty-eight years;
  Oh, how the human world changes its gown
  As heaven and sea are upside down!
  Remember still the war fires neigh
  And narrow escapes from death on our way
  Happen as if it were yesterday.
  (Translated by Gu Zhengkun)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
九	死	一	生
きゅう Grade: 1	し Grade: 3	いつ > いっ Grade: 1	しょう Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

Idiom borrowed from Middle Chinese 九死一生 (MC kjuwX sijX 'jit sraengH). Literally, “nine deaths, one life”, i.e. nine chances to die and just one to live. By surface analysis, 九(きゅう) (kyū, “nine”) + 死(し) (shi, “death”) + 一(いっ)生(しょう) (isshō, “lifetime, life”).

Compare 十(じっ)死(し)一(いっ)生(しょう) (jisshi isshō, literally “ten deaths, one life”) and 万(ばん)死(し)一(いっ)生(しょう) (banshi isshō, literally “ten thousand deaths, one life”), both of the same meaning.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) きゅうしいっしょー [kyúꜜùshì ìsshòò] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
IPA^(key): [kʲɨːɕi iɕːo̞ː]

Noun

九(きゅう)死(し)一(いっ)生(しょう) • (kyūshi isshō) ^{←きうしいつしやう (kiusi itusyau)^?}

narrow escape from death

Synonyms

十(じっ)死(し)一(いっ)生(しょう) (jisshi isshō)
万(ばん)死(し)一(いっ)生(しょう) (banshi isshō)

References

^ “九死一生”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

Korean

Hanja in this term
九	死	一	生

Noun

九死一生 • (gusailsaeng) (hangeul 구사일생)

hanja form^? of 구사일생

[NKD2-1] “九死一生”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[1]