见死不救 — “See death, not rescue”
见死不救 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to deliberately refuse to offer help or rescue to someone in distress or mortal danger; to leave someone in the lurch”. Literally, “See death, not rescue”.
Frequency
见死不救 Pronunciation and Pinyin
- 见jiàn
- 死sǐ
- 不bù
- 救jiù
见死不救 Character Breakdown
Example Sentence with 见死不救
看到小猫被困在树上，他没有见死不救，而是找来梯子把它救了下来。
Seeing the kitten trapped in the tree, he didn't abandon it to its fate but found a ladder and rescued it.
Origin and Story of 见死不救
During the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius traveled with his disciples through various states. While in the State of Cai, Confucius lectured his disciples on benevolence and acting bravely for a just cause. He found Zai Yu sleeping in class and woke him up.
Zai Yu asked Confucius, "If someone falls into a well, is it benevolent and courageous to jump in and die trying to save them? Or is it unbenevolent 'to see someone die and not save them' if one doesn't jump?" Confucius replied that one could use other methods to save them.
Idioms Related to 见死不救
Synonyms of 见死不救
Antonyms of 见死不救
More idioms starting with 见
- jiàn见shì世shēng生miáo苗yield immediate results or benefits
- jiàn见yì义yǒng勇wéi为act bravely for a just cause
- jiàn见yì义dāng当wéi为act when seeing justice
- jiàn见yì义bì必wéi为act courageously for justice
- jiàn见yì义gǎn敢wéi为act courageously for a just cause
- jiàn见zhī之bù不qǔ取，，sī思zhī之qiān千lǐ里regret missing an opportunity
- jiàn见shì事shēng生fēng风stir up trouble
- jiàn见shì事fēng风shēng生act with great speed and resolution
- jiàn见rén人shuō说rén人huà话，，jiàn见guǐ鬼shuō说guǐ鬼huà话adapt speech to the listener
- jiàn见rén仁jiàn见zhì智different people have different opinions
- jiàn见tù兔fàng放yīng鹰Seize the moment and act decisively
- jiàn见tù兔gù顾quǎn犬Act promptly when a problem arises
Questions about 见死不救
- What does 见死不救 mean?
- 见死不救 (jiàn sǐ bù jiù) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to deliberately refuse to offer help or rescue to someone in distress or mortal danger; to leave someone in the lurch”.
- How do you pronounce 见死不救?
- 见死不救 is pronounced jiàn sǐ bù jiù in Mandarin Chinese.
- What does 见死不救 literally mean?
- Literally, 见死不救 means “See death, not rescue”. It is used to mean “to deliberately refuse to offer help or rescue to someone in distress or mortal danger; to leave someone in the lurch”.
- Where does 见死不救 come from?
- 见死不救 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
- What is the Chinese definition of 见死不救?
- 看见人家有急难而不去救援。