九 死(きゅうし)に一 生(いっしょう)

きゅうしにいっしょう

expression

narrow escape from death

1. narrow escape from death; surviving against all odds

An idiom meaning to barely survive a life-threatening situation. Literally "one life out of nine deaths," expressing that the chance of survival was only one in ten.

九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)た。

I narrowly escaped death.

交通(こうつう)事故(じこ)で九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)て、命(いのち)の大切(たいせつ)さを実感(じっかん)した。

After narrowly surviving a traffic accident, I truly felt the preciousness of life.

登山中(とざんちゅう)に雪崩(なだれ)に巻(ま)き込(こ)まれたが、九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)て救助(きゅうじょ)された。

I was caught in an avalanche while mountain climbing, but barely survived and was rescued.

Usage

Almost always used in the set phrase 九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)る (to obtain one life from nine deaths). A classical four-character idiom (yojijukugo) originating from Chinese. Used in both speech and writing to describe dramatic survival stories.

Common collocations

九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)る (to narrowly escape death)
九死(きゅうし)に一生(いっしょう)を得(え)た体験(たいけん) (an experience of narrowly escaping death)

Similar words

危機一髪(ききいっぱつ): a close call — a hair's breadth from danger; does not necessarily involve death
命(いのち)からがら: barely with one's life — emphasizes fleeing from danger

Related Words

Synonym: 危機(きき)一髪(いっぱつ) (close call (not necessarily death))

general

Added 2026.3.19 20:57 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01

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