你死我活 nǐ sǐ wǒ huó life or death

Explanation

形容双方斗争非常激烈，不死不休。

Describes a very intense struggle between two parties, to the bitter end.

Origin Story

话说三国时期，蜀汉名将关羽镇守荆州，与东吴孙权之间矛盾日益激化。孙权为了削弱蜀汉实力，联合魏国，对荆州发动了猛烈的进攻。关羽孤军奋战，抵挡不住魏吴联军的强大攻势，最终兵败身亡，成就了一段“你死我活”的悲壮历史。这段历史也成为了后世人们“你死我活”这个成语的来源。

huì shuō sān guó shíqī, shǔ hàn míng jiàng guān yǔ zhèn shǒu jīng zhōu, yǔ dōng wú sūn quán zhī jiān máodùn rì yì jī huà。sūn quán wèile xuē ruò shǔ hàn shílì, liánhé wèi guó, duì jīng zhōu fādòngle měngliè de gōng jī。guān yǔ gūjūn fènzhàn, dǐdàng bù zhù wèi wú liánjūn de qiángdà gōngshì, zuìzhōng bīng bài shēnwáng, chéngjiùle yī duàn “nǐ sǐ wǒ huó” de bēi zhuàng lìshǐ。zhè duàn lìshǐ yě chéngwéile hòushì rénmen “nǐ sǐ wǒ huó” zhège chéngyǔ de láiyuán。

During the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China, Guan Yu, a famous general of Shu Han, guarded Jingzhou, and the conflict between him and Sun Quan of Eastern Wu intensified. Sun Quan, in order to weaken Shu Han's strength, formed an alliance with Wei and launched a fierce attack on Jingzhou. Guan Yu fought alone and could not withstand the strong offensive of the combined forces of Wei and Wu. Eventually, he lost the battle and died, creating a tragic and heroic historical event of "life or death". This historical event became the origin of the Chinese idiom "life or death".

Usage

多用于形容斗争的激烈程度。

duō yòng yú xíngróng dòuzhēng de jīliè chéngdù。

Mostly used to describe the intensity of a struggle.

Examples

• 两家公司为了争夺市场份额，展开了你死我活的竞争。

  liǎng jiā gōngsī wèile zhēngduó shìchǎng fèn'é, zhǎnkāile nǐ sǐ wǒ huó de jìngzhēng。

  Two companies engaged in a life-or-death competition for market share.

• 在激烈的比赛中，双方队员你死我活地拼搏，最终决出了胜负。

  zài jīliè de bǐsài zhōng, shuāngfāng duìyuán nǐ sǐ wǒ huó de pīnbó, zuìzhōng juéchūle shèngfù。

  In the intense competition, both teams fought hard, and finally the winner was decided..

Related Idioms

• 不共戴天

• 势不两立

Opposite Idioms

• 同生共死

• 患难与共