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風前の灯火 (fuuzennotomoshibi) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
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たい
は
まさに
風ふう
前ぜん
の
灯ともし
火び
だ
。
The company's financial situation is truly precarious.
His life hung by a thread during the war.
Related words 風ふう 前ぜん の 灯ともしび Same meaning; a shorter variant of 風前の灯火.
危き 機き 一いっ 髪ぱつ Means 'a close call' or 'by a hair's breadth', focusing on a narrow escape from danger rather than a prolonged precarious state.
絶ぜっ 体たい 絶ぜつ 命めい Describes a desperate, hopeless situation with no way out, stronger than 風前の灯火.
Written forms 風ふう 前ぜん の 灯ともし 火び
Standard kanji form; 灯火 is the usual spelling for ともしび in this idiom.
風ふう 前ぜん の 灯ともしび
Variant using 灯 alone; less common but still encountered.
風ふう 前ぜん のともしび
Kana spelling for 灯火; used when the kanji is avoided or for clarity.
風ふう 前ぜん のともし 火び
Mixed kanji-kana spelling; rarely used.
風ふう 前ぜん 之の 灯ともしび
Etymology Literally 'a lamp before the wind'. The image of a flame about to be extinguished by the wind is used metaphorically for a precarious state. The exact origin is uncertain, but it is a classical Chinese-derived expression.
灯ひ
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 之 instead of の.
