生离死别 — “A heart-wrenching separation from loved ones”
生离死别 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a heart-wrenching separation from loved ones”. Often implying a permanent or very long-term parting, feeling as painful as being separated by death. Literally, “separation in life, parting in death”.
生离死别 Pronunciation and Pinyin
生离死别 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 生离死别
Origin and Story of 生离死别
During the Southern Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang accepted the surrender of Hou Jing, a general from the Western Wei. However, Hou Jing later rebelled, capturing the capital city and intending to starve Emperor Wu and the city's inhabitants to death.
Xu Ling, a scholar, had his father trapped inside the besieged city. Deeply worried, Xu Ling wrote a letter to Yang Zunyan, a high-ranking official (仆射), pleading for his father's release.
In his letter, Xu Ling vividly depicted the profound grief and pain of facing a separation as agonizing and final as death (生离死别) from his dear father, movingly portraying the desperate hope to avert such a tragic fate.
Idioms Related to 生离死别
Synonyms of 生离死别
Antonyms of 生离死别
More idioms starting with 生
- shēng生shàng上qǐ起xià下Connect preceding to following
- shēng生bù不rú如sǐ死life is worse than death
- shēng生bù不féng逢chǎng场Born at an inopportune time
- shēng生bù不féng逢shí时born at the wrong time
- shēng生bù不féng逢chén辰born at an unlucky time
- shēng生bù不yù遇shí时born at an unfortunate time
- shēng生shì事wēi微miǎo渺precarious and meager livelihood
- shēng生shì事rǎo扰mín民cause trouble and disturb the public
- shēng生yú于yōu忧huàn患ér而sǐ死yú于ān安lè乐Adversity fosters survival, ease leads to ruin
- shēng生yú于yōu忧huàn患，，sǐ死yú于yì逸lè乐adversity spurs survival, ease brings ruin
- shēng生rén人tú涂tàn炭people plunged into extreme misery
- shēng生zhòng众shí食guǎ寡abundant production and sparse consumption
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Open the tool →Questions about 生离死别
What does 生离死别 mean?
生离死别 (shēng lí sǐ bié) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “a heart-wrenching separation from loved ones”.
How do you pronounce 生离死别?
生离死别 is pronounced shēng lí sǐ bié in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 生离死别 literally mean?
Literally, 生离死别 means “separation in life, parting in death”. It is used to mean “a heart-wrenching separation from loved ones”.
Where does 生离死别 come from?
生离死别 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 生离死别?
分离好象和死者永别一样。指很难再见的离别或永久的离别。