nei5 sei2 ngo5 wut6你死我活
Jyutpingnei5 sei2 ngo5 wut6
Yalenéih séi ngóh wuht
Definition
A life-or-death struggle; a fierce, ruthless, or deadly fight.
colloquialemotionpeople
How it's used
This idiom is frequently used to describe intense competition in professional or personal settings, rather than just literal physical combat. It carries a strong sense of zero-sum conflict where one party must lose for the other to win. It is often paired with the verb 鬥 to emphasize the process of the struggle.
Examples
The two of them fought tooth and nail to compete for that position.
Is it really necessary to make it such a life-or-death struggle?
Common phrases
to fight until one side is destroyed
to compete fiercely for something
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe a simple disagreement or a minor argument. It implies a high-stakes, uncompromising situation where the parties involved are willing to go to extremes to defeat their opponent.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- LocationHow to say where something is using 喺 (hai2), place words like 度, and the common coverbs that work like English prepositions.
- Serial verbsStringing two or more verbs together without any joining word, like go to the shop buy things. Extremely common in Cantonese.
- 將 disposalHow to move the object in front of the verb with 將, to focus on what happens to it. Common in instructions and writing.
