生死攸关

生死攸關

shēngsǐ-yōuguān

idiom #17,067

Meanings

1 a matter of life and death
2 vitally important

Characters

(literary) that which; where

to concern; to relate to

Literally 'life and death are what it concerns' — the outcome determines whether one lives or dies.

Examples

这是一个生死攸关的时刻。

Zhè shì yī gè shēngsǐ-yōuguān de shíkè.

This is a matter of life and death.

在生死攸关的紧急情况下，他保持了冷静。

Zài shēngsǐ-yōuguān de jǐnjí qíngkuàng xià, tā bǎochí le lěngjìng.

He remained calm in the life-or-death emergency.

Tips

memory

攸 (yōu) is a rare literary character meaning 'place where' or 'that which.' 攸关 means 'to be vitally connected to.' Think of 攸 as the classical version of 所.

Stroke Order

生 shēng

死 sǐ

攸 yōu

关 guān