死去活来

死去活來

sǐqùhuólái

idiom #22,051

Meanings

1 half dead
2 within an inch of one's life
3 to suffer terribly
4 to hover between life and death
5 to the point of exhaustion

Characters

to go / to leave

to live / alive

to come / to return

Examples

她哭得死去活来，让大家都很担心。

Tā kū de sǐqùhuólái, ràng dàjiā dōu hěn dānxīn.

She cried her eyes out to the point of exhaustion, worrying everyone.

这场病把他折磨得死去活来。

Zhè chǎng bìng bǎ tā zhémó de sǐqùhuólái.

This illness tormented him within an inch of his life.

Tips

memory

死去 (die and leave) + 活来 (come back alive) — picture someone so affected they repeatedly die and revive. The alternating extremes capture intense suffering or emotion.

Stroke Order

死 sǐ

去 qù

活 huó

来 lái