📖 Meaning
To pledge to live and die together. It describes an extremely close, inseparable bond between people, often forged through shared hardship and mutual loyalty. The idiom conveys the solemnity of an oath that unites two parties through both life and death.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single literary origin but reflects a deeply rooted cultural concept in Chinese history, where sworn brotherhoods and military comrades pledged to share whatever fate befell them. Such oaths were common among soldiers on the battlefield and among sworn brothers in folk traditions, echoing famous historical pacts like those in the Three Kingdoms era. The phrase encapsulates the Confucian virtue of loyalty and the martial spirit of solidarity. Over time it became a standard expression for describing unbreakable bonds of devotion.
💡 Example Usage
他们两人在战场上誓同生死，结下了深厚的情谊。
The two pledged to live and die together on the battlefield, forging a deep and lasting bond of friendship.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 誓同生死
- Pinyin: shì tóng shēng sǐ
- Literal Translation: swear, together, life, death
- Category: Emotion
- Characters: 4