不得善終

Chinese

		to not get	good end
trad. (不得善終)		不得	善終
simp. (不得善终)		不得	善终

Etymology

From Romance of the Three Kingdoms:

堅指天為誓曰：「吾若果得此寶，私自藏匿，異日不得善終，死於刀箭之下！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]

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坚指天为誓曰：「吾若果得此宝，私自藏匿，异日不得善终，死于刀箭之下！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

Jiān zhǐ tiān wèi shì yuē: “Wú ruò guǒ dé cǐ bǎo, sīzì cángnì, yìrì bùdéshànzhōng, sǐ yú dāojiàn zhī xià!” [Pinyin]

(Sun) Jian pointed to the sky to swear an oath that: "If I indeed obtained this treasure (Heirloom Seal of the Realm) yet secretly hid it, in the future I would not have a good end (of life) / not die a good death, but I would die by swords and arrows."

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): bùdéshànzhōng

  (Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄕㄢˋ ㄓㄨㄥ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ dak¹ sin⁶ zung¹

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: bùdéshànzhōng
    • Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄕㄢˋ ㄓㄨㄥ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: bùdéshànjhong
    • Wade–Giles: pu⁴-tê²-shan⁴-chung¹
    • Yale: bù-dé-shàn-jūng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: budershannjong
    • Palladius: будэшаньчжун (budɛšanʹčžun)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʂän⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: bat¹ dak¹ sin⁶ zung¹
    • Yale: bāt dāk sihn jūng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ dak⁷ sin⁶ dzung¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ deg¹ xin⁶ zung¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ tɐk̚⁵ siːn²² t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵/

Verb

不得善終

1. (literary) to die a miserable death
2. (literary, figurative) to meet with a tragic end; to be done in; to not have a favorable outcome

Synonyms

• 不得好死 (bùdéhǎosǐ)