📖 Meaning
A humorous or facetious way of saying someone has died. It carries a tone of dark humor and lighthearted irreverence rather than solemnity. Often used in storytelling or casual narration to describe a death with a touch of dramatic exaggeration.
📜 Origin Story
The phrase appears in the Ming dynasty story collection Qingping Shantang Huaben (清平山堂话本), in the tale Contract Text Record (合同文字记). In the story, a character named Liu Er falls ill with a fever and, after six or seven days, dies — described as having 'ended his life with a wail and returned to the underworld' (一命呜呼，已归泉下). The expression combines 一命 (one life) with 呜呼 (a classical exclamation of lament), creating a dramatic yet slightly humorous way to announce a death. It was later popularized through vernacular fiction such as Shi Yukun's Sanxia Wuyi (三侠五义).
💡 Example Usage
那个恶霸作恶多端，最终一命鸣呼，百姓无不拍手称快。
That tyrant committed countless evils and ultimately breathed his last, to the unanimous applause of the common people.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 一命鸣呼
- Pinyin: yī mìng míng hū
- Literal Translation: one, life, wail, exhale
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4