危急存亡之秋

Chinese

		critical; desperate	to live or die; life or death	's; him/her/it; this	autumn; fall; harvest time autumn; fall; harvest time; a swing
trad. (危急存亡之秋)		危急	存亡	之	秋
simp. #(危急存亡之秋)		危急	存亡	之	秋

Etymology

From Chu Shi Biao by 諸葛亮 (Zhūgě Liàng) (Zhuge Liang):

今天下三分，益州疲弊，此誠危急存亡之秋也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

---

今天下三分，益州疲弊，此诚危急存亡之秋也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: 227, 諸葛亮 (Zhūgě Liàng) (Zhuge Liang), 《出師表》

Jīn tiānxià sānfēn, yìzhōu píbì, cǐ chéng wēijícúnwángzhīqiū yě. [Pinyin]

Today, China is divided into three parts, and the Kingdom of Han is weak and fatigued. This is truly a critical moment determining our survival.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wēijícúnwángzhīqiū, wéijícúnwángzhīqiū

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄟ ㄐㄧˊ ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓ ㄑㄧㄡ, ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧˊ ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓ ㄑㄧㄡ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): ngai⁴ gap¹ cyun⁴ mong⁴ zi¹ cau¹

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wēijícúnwángzhīqiū
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟ ㄐㄧˊ ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓ ㄑㄧㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: weijícúnwángjhihciou
    • Wade–Giles: wei¹-chi²-tsʻun²-wang²-chih¹-chʻiu¹
    • Yale: wēi-jí-tswún-wáng-jr̄-chyōu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: ueijyitswenwangjychiou
    • Palladius: вэйцзицуньванчжицю (vɛjczicunʹvančžicju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯⁵⁵ t͡ɕi³⁵ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/
      
  • (Standard Chinese, standard in Taiwan; dated variant in Mainland)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wéijícúnwángzhīqiū
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˊ ㄐㄧˊ ㄘㄨㄣˊ ㄨㄤˊ ㄓ ㄑㄧㄡ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wéijícúnwángjhihciou
    • Wade–Giles: wei²-chi²-tsʻun²-wang²-chih¹-chʻiu¹
    • Yale: wéi-jí-tswún-wáng-jr̄-chyōu
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: weijyitswenwangjychiou
    • Palladius: вэйцзицуньванчжицю (vɛjczicunʹvančžicju)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯³⁵ t͡ɕi³⁵ t͡sʰu̯ən³⁵ wɑŋ³⁵ ʈ͡ʂʐ̩⁵⁵ t͡ɕʰi̯oʊ̯⁵⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: ngai⁴ gap¹ cyun⁴ mong⁴ zi¹ cau¹
    • Yale: ngàih gāp chyùhn mòhng jī chāu
    • Cantonese Pinyin: ngai⁴ gap⁷ tsyn⁴ mong⁴ dzi¹ tsau¹
    • Guangdong Romanization: ngei⁴ geb¹ qun⁴ mong⁴ ji¹ ceo¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ŋɐi̯²¹ kɐp̚⁵ t͡sʰyːn²¹ mɔːŋ²¹ t͡siː⁵⁵ t͡sʰɐu̯⁵⁵/

Idiom

危急存亡之秋

1. a critical moment determining someone's or something's survival

Synonyms

• 生死關頭／生死关头 (shēngsǐguāntóu)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (危急存亡之秋):

• → Korean: 위급존망지추(危急存亡之秋) (wigeupjonmangjichu)

Others:

• → Japanese: (calque) 危(き)急(きゅう)存(そん)亡(ぼう)の秋(とき) (kikyū sonbō no toki)