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九死一生 (きゅうしいっしょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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死し
一いっ
生しょう
の
思おも
い
を
し
た
。
He had a narrow escape from death in that accident.
Having barely escaped death, his outlook on life changed.
Related words 危き 機き 一いっ 髪ぱつ 危機一髪 focuses on a critical moment of danger, while 九死一生 emphasizes the outcome of surviving against overwhelming odds.
死し 線せん をさまよう 死線をさまよう describes the process of hovering between life and death, whereas 九死一生 describes the result of escaping death.
Etymology A yojijukugo derived from classical Chinese, combining 九死 (nine deaths, i.e., near-certain death) and 一生 (one life, i.e., survival). The exact historical origin is uncertain, but it has been used in Japanese to describe a miraculous escape from death.
