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Chinese Character/Word:

Definition(s) for: 置之死地而后生

Hanzi Pinyin Definition(s)
置之死地而后生 zhì zhī sǐ dì ér hòu shēng - (idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1zi3 Bing1fa3]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle; to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger; to find a way to emerge from a dire situation

List Ranking:

Where rank 1 is most common, and higher numbers are less common.

HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
- - 56,255 73,263 51,519

Individual Character Breakdown:

Simp Pinyin Eng
置 zhì- to install
- to place
- to put
- to buy
之 zhī- (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])
- him
- her
- it
死 sǐ- to die
- impassable
- uncrossable
- inflexible
- rigid
- extremely
- damned
地 de- -ly
- structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
地 dì- earth
- ground
- field
- place
- land
- CL:片[pian4]
而 ér- and
- as well as
- and so
- but (not)
- yet (not)
- (indicates causal relation)
- (indicates change of state)
- (indicates contrast)
后 hòu- surname Hou
后 hòu- empress
- queen
- (archaic) monarch
- ruler
后 hòu- back
- behind
- rear
- afterwards
- after
- later
- post-
生 shēng- to be born
- to give birth
- life
- to grow
- raw
- uncooked
- student

Other Words Containing 置之死地而后生

Sorted by the 'SUBTLEX-CH' rank because that seems like the most reliable. Words without a SUBTLEX-CH rank are ignored for being too rare.

Word HSK 2 Level (2012) HSK 3 Band (2022) SUBTLEX-CH BeijingUni Global BeijingUni Weibo
置之死地而后生 - - 56,255 73,263 51,519