184Japanese idiom 四字熟語
九死に一生を得る
きゅうしにいっしょうをえるKyūshi ni isshō o eru
“To gain one life out of nine deaths.”
The meaning
Escaping by a hair what seemed lost. The phrase recalls that one can come out of desperate situations alive — and that every exit is a second chance.
At the origin
A classic idiom for last-minute rescues.
The characters
- 九死 kyūshinine deaths
- に niin, out of
- 一生
- を
- 得る
にParticleThe point of arrival: a place, a moment, a destination.
In practice
If you have crossed the worst, treat what follows as the gift it is.
Themes
Similar proverbs
- 185 起死回生 Bringing back to life what seemed dead.
- 040 二兎を追う者は一兎をも得ず He who chases two hares catches neither.
- 088 聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥 To ask is a moment's shame; not to ask is a lifetime's shame.
- 173 正直は一生の宝 Honesty is the treasure of a lifetime.
- 200 人の一生は重荷を負うて遠き道を行くが如し A man's life is a long road walked under a burden; there is no need to hurry.