📖 Meaning
To bid farewell to the world forever and depart from human life. It is a euphemistic expression meaning to pass away or die, often used respectfully for the deceased.
📜 Origin Story
The idiom originates from the story "贾奉雉" (Jia Fengzhi) in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio (《聊斋志异》) by the Qing dynasty writer Pu Songling. In the tale, the scholar Jia Fengzhi gains fame through examination essays he himself despises, likening his achievement to storing dog excrement in a golden basin and jade bowl. Feeling he has no face to meet his peers, he declares that he will soon retreat into the mountains and "bid farewell to the world forever." The phrase later became a euphemism for death.
💡 Example Usage
曹冷元那斑白的头发楂和胡须都烧焦了，脸上起着一片红泡，眼睛含着浑泪，与世长辞了。
Cao Lengyuan's graying stubble and beard were scorched, red blisters covered his face, tears welled in his eyes—and he passed away from the world forever.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 与世长辞
- Pinyin: yǔ shì cháng cí
- Literal Translation: with, world, forever, farewell
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4