jan4 ming6 gwaan1 tin1人命關天人命关天
Jyutpingjan4 ming6 gwaan1 tin1
Yaleyàhn mihng gwāan tīn
Definition
Of paramount importance; a matter of life and death.
colloquialpeopleother
How it's used
Emphasizes the extreme gravity of a situation where someone's survival is at stake. It is often used to urge immediate action or to justify bypassing standard procedures in an emergency. While it sounds formal, it is frequently used in urgent, high-stakes spoken situations to demand attention.
Examples
This matter is a question of life and death, you absolutely cannot mess around.
Saving lives is urgent, it is a matter of life and death, drive faster!
Related words
Common phrases
absolutely a matter of life and death
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
