九 死 一 生(きゅうしいっしょう)

きゅうしいっしょう

noun

narrow escape from death; close call

1. narrow escape from death; close call; hair's breadth escape

A situation where one barely survives against overwhelming odds — literally, nine chances of death and one chance of life.

九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)を得(え)た。

I had a narrow escape from death.

九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)の体験(たいけん)を語(かた)った。

He recounted his near-death experience.

大地震(おおじしん)で建物(たてもの)が崩(くず)れたが、九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)を得(え)て助(たす)け出(だ)された。

The building collapsed in the earthquake, but I was rescued by a narrow escape from death.

A four-character idiom (四字熟語(よじじゅくご)) from Chinese. The literal meaning is "nine deaths, one life" — facing a situation where the odds of survival are one in ten. Almost always used in the fixed phrase 九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)を得(え)る (to obtain a narrow escape).

Common collocations

九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)を得(え)る: to barely escape death
九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)の思(おも)い: the feeling of barely surviving
九死一生(きゅうしいっしょう)の体験(たいけん): near-death experience

Similar words

危機一髪(ききいっぱつ): by a hair's breadth — emphasizes timing rather than survival odds
間一髪(かんいっぱつ): in the nick of time — very close call, narrower focus on timing
生死(せいし)の境(さかい): between life and death — describes the state, not the escape

Related Words

Compare: 危機一髪(ききいっぱつ) (by a hair's breadth)

Compare: 間一髪(かんいっぱつ) (in the nick of time)

general

Added 2026.4.2 10:41 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02

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