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生于忧患，死于安乐

shēng yú yōu huàn , sǐ yú ān lèdictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
to thrive in calamity and perish in soft living (idiom) / life springs from sorrow and calamity, death comes from ease and pleasure
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-951e6598289b7e3e. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

生於憂患，死於安樂 生于忧患，死于安乐 [sheng1 yu2 you1 huan4 , si3 yu2 an1 le4] /to thrive in calamity and perish in soft living (idiom)/life springs from sorrow and calamity, death comes from ease and pleasure/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 生於憂患，死於安樂

  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

  • 于
    yú

    to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / (of time or place) in / at / on / (indicating any indirect relation) to / toward / vis-à-vis / with regard to / for / (indicating a source) from / out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by

    Yú

    surname Yu

  • 忧
    yōu

    to worry / to concern oneself with / worried / anxiety / sorrow / (literary) to observe mourning

  • 患
    huàn

    to suffer (from illness) / to contract (a disease) / misfortune / trouble / danger / worry

  • 死
    sǐ

    to die / impassable / uncrossable / inflexible / rigid / extremely / damned

  • 于
    yú

    to go / to take / sentence-final interrogative particle / (of time or place) in / at / on / (indicating any indirect relation) to / toward / vis-à-vis / with regard to / for / (indicating a source) from / out of / (used in comparison) than / (used in the passive voice) by

    Yú

    surname Yu

  • 安
    ān

    (bound form) calm / peaceful / to calm / to set at ease / safe / secure / in good health / content / satisfied (as in 安於|安于[ān yú]) / to place (sb) in a suitable position (job) / to install / to fix / to fit / to bring (a charge against sb) / to harbor (certain intentions) / ampere (abbr. for 安培[ān péi])

    Ān

    surname An

  • 乐
    lào

    used in place names

    lè

    happy / cheerful / to laugh

    yuè

    music

    Lè

    surname Le

    Yuè

    surname Yue

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.