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半死半生 (はんしはんしょう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

半はん死し半はん生しょう

は

ん

し

は

ん

しょ

う

Meanings

1

noun

half-dead; more dead than alive

yojijukugo (four-character idiom)

Describes a state of extreme exhaustion, injury, or near-death. Often used hyperbolically.

彼かれは半はん死し半はん生しょうの状じょう態たいで病びょう院いんに運はこばれた。
He was taken to the hospital in a half-dead state.

徹てつ

夜や

続つづ

き

で

半はん

死し

半はん

生しょう

だ

。

I'm half-dead after pulling all-nighters.

Kanji

半half, middle, odd number
死death, die
生life, genuine, birth

Similar words

瀕ひん死し
瀕死 is more literal and clinical, meaning 'on the verge of death', while 半死半生 is often used figuratively for extreme fatigue or injury.

Etymology

A yojijukugo composed of 半 (half), 死 (death), 半 (half), and 生 (life), literally 'half-dead, half-alive'. The exact origin is uncertain, but it follows a common four-character pattern for describing a state between life and death.