老死不相往来 — “Grow old and die without having any contact with each other”
老死不相往来 is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live out one's days without having any contact or communication with each other; to be completely estranged and never interact again”. Literally, “Grow old and die without having any contact with each other”.
老死不相往来 Pronunciation and Pinyin
老死不相往来 Character Breakdown
Stroke OrderExample Sentence with 老死不相往来
Origin and Story of 老死不相往来
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the philosopher Laozi proposed an ideal state of affairs. He believed that neighboring states could see each other and hear the sounds of each other's roosters and dogs. Yet, he envisioned a society where people would eat their own rich food, wear their own clothes, and live according to their own customs, so content and self-sufficient that they would grow old and die without ever having contact or interaction with people from the other state.
Later, Sima Qian, the great historian, expressed his view that this idea of 'growing old and dying without interacting' was impractical and unworkable in reality.
Idioms Related to 老死不相往来
Antonyms of 老死不相往来
More idioms starting with 老
- lǎo老bù不xiǎo晓shì事old and muddled
- lǎo老zhī之jiāng将zhì至old age is approaching
- lǎo老yú于shì世gù故worldly-wise and experienced
- lǎo老sēng僧rù入dìng定deeply absorbed and still
- lǎo老bā八bèi辈zi子extremely old-fashioned
- lǎo老yī医shǎo少bo卜Each has their own strengths
- lǎo老gǔ古bǎn板an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud
- lǎo老gǔ古dǒng董old-fashioned person or thing
- lǎo老wú吾lǎo老yǐ以jí及rén人zhī之lǎo老Respect all elders as your own
- lǎo老dà大tú徒shāng伤Regret wasted youth in old age
- lǎo老dà大tú徒shāng伤bēi悲lament wasted youth in old age
- lǎo老dà大wú无chéng成grow old without achieving anything
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Open the tool →Questions about 老死不相往来
What does 老死不相往来 mean?
老死不相往来 (lǎo sǐ bù xiāng wǎng lái) is a Chinese idiom (chengyu) meaning “to live out one's days without having any contact or communication with each other; to be completely estranged and never interact again”.
How do you pronounce 老死不相往来?
老死不相往来 is pronounced lǎo sǐ bù xiāng wǎng lái in Mandarin Chinese.
What does 老死不相往来 literally mean?
Literally, 老死不相往来 means “Grow old and die without having any contact with each other”. It is used to mean “to live out one's days without having any contact or communication with each other; to be completely estranged and never interact again”.
Where does 老死不相往来 come from?
老死不相往来 comes from a classical Chinese story dating back to ancient China. The full story is on this page.
What is the Chinese definition of 老死不相往来?
指彼此不联系，不交流情况。