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危急存亡の秋 (ききゅうそんぼうのとき) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

危き急きゅう存そん亡ぼうの秋とき

き

きゅ

う

そ

ん

ぼ

う

の

と

き

Meanings

1

noun

crisis; critical moment; moment of truth

A formal, somewhat literary expression for a decisive crisis where survival is at stake. Often used in historical or dramatic contexts.

今いまこそ危き急きゅう存そん亡ぼうの秋ときだ。
Now is the critical moment.
会かい社しゃは危き急きゅう存そん亡

ぼう

の

秋とき

を

迎むか

え

て

いる

。

The company is facing a life-or-death crisis.

Written forms

危き急きゅう存そん亡ぼうの秋とき
Classical kanji form using 秋 (autumn) to mean 'critical time'; the reading とき is a special reading for this expression.
危き急きゅう存そん亡ぼうの時とき
Modernized spelling replacing 秋 with 時; less common but clearer for learners.

Kanji

危dangerous, fear, uneasy
急hurry, emergency, sudden
存exist, suppose, be aware of
亡deceased, the late, dying
秋autumn
時time, hour

Similar words

危き機き
危機 is the common word for 'crisis' in everyday and formal contexts. 危急存亡の秋 is a more dramatic, literary phrase emphasizing a decisive, life-or-death moment.
存そん亡ぼうの機き
存亡の機 is a similar classical expression meaning 'the moment of survival or ruin', but it is less common and more archaic than 危急存亡の秋.

Etymology

A four-character compound (四字熟語) combining 危急 (emergency), 存亡 (survival or ruin), and 秋 (autumn, used metaphorically for 'critical time'). The reading とき for 秋 is a special classical reading (熟字訓).