死而后已 — “Cease only after death”
死而后已 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to devote oneself to a cause with utmost dedication until one's dying day; to exert all one's efforts until death”. Literally, “Cease only after death”.
死而后已 Pronunciation and Pinyin
死而后已 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 死而后已
Origin and Story of 死而后已
During the Three Kingdoms period, after Liu Bei, the ruler of Shu, passed away, his incompetent son A Dou ascended the throne. A Dou, only interested in pleasure, entrusted all military and political power to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang formed an alliance with Wu against Wei, campaigned against Meng Huo in the south, and actively prepared for two northern expeditions.
Before his final northern expedition, he wrote the 'Later Chu Shi Biao' (Later Memorial on Dispatching the Troops) to A Dou, expressing his lifelong dedication and commitment to serve the country until his dying day.
Idioms Related to 死而后已
Synonyms of 死而后已
Antonyms of 死而后已
More idioms starting with 死
- sǐ死bù不huí回tóu头stubbornly refuse to change
- sǐ死bù不kāi开kǒu口refuse to speak or reveal information
- sǐ死bù不huǐ悔gǎi改stubbornly refuse to repent
- sǐ死bù不gǎi改huǐ悔unrepentant until death
- sǐ死bù不xuán旋zhǒng踵Advance with unwavering resolve unto death
- sǐ死bù不sǐ死，，huó活bù不huó活caught in an agonizing dilemma
- sǐ死bù不gān甘xīn心unwilling to accept defeat until death
- sǐ死bù不míng瞑mù目die with everlasting regret
- sǐ死bù不yào要liǎn脸utterly shameless
- sǐ死bù不zú足xī惜death not worth regretting
- sǐ死bù不bì闭mù目die with unfulfilled wishes
- sǐ死qiě且bù不xiǔ朽to be remembered forever
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Open the tool →Questions about 死而后已
What does 死而后已 mean?
死而后已 (sǐ ér hòu yǐ) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to devote oneself to a cause with utmost dedication until one's dying day; to exert all one's efforts until death”.
How do you pronounce 死而后已?
死而后已 is pronounced sǐ ér hòu yǐ in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 死而后已 literally mean?
Literally, 死而后已 means “Cease only after death”. It is used to mean “to devote oneself to a cause with utmost dedication until one's dying day; to exert all one's efforts until death”.
Where does 死而后已 come from?
死而后已 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 死而后已?
已：停止。死了以后才罢手。形容为完成一种责任而奋斗终身。