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要命

yào mìng

HSK 7–9

Meaning

  • to cause sb's death
  • extremely; terribly
  • (used in complaining about sth) to be a nuisance

Definition

使丧失生命；表示程度极深，常用于抱怨或强调；表示事情很严重或很麻烦。

to cause death; extremely (used in complaints or emphasis); serious or troublesome.

Usage

常作为补语表示程度极深，或用于感叹表示严重、麻烦。

Often used as a complement to indicate an extreme degree, or in exclamations to express seriousness or trouble.

Examples

  • 1 这天气热得要命。（The weather is damn hot.）
  • 2 他忙得要命，根本没时间休息。（He's extremely busy, no time to rest.）
  • 3 真要命，我又把钥匙丢了！（Oh my god, I lost my keys again!）
  • 4 这种头疼真要命，吃药也没用。（This headache is killing me, medicine doesn't work.）
  • 5 要命的是，我们只剩下五分钟了。（The worst part is, we only have five minutes left.）

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