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
general
Added 2026.3.19 20:57
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