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生於憂患，死於安樂

简 生于忧患，死于安乐 · 繁 生於憂患，死於安樂
Mandarin · pinyin shēng yú yōu huàn , sǐ yú ān lè

Meanings

  1. to thrive in calamity and perish in soft living (idiom)
  2. life springs from sorrow and calamity, death comes from ease and pleasure
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Characters in this entry

生
shēng · life, living, lifetime; birth
於
yú · yū · in, at, on; interjection alas!
憂
Look up this written character
患
huàn · suffer, worry about; suffering
死
sǐ · die; dead; death
安
ān · peaceful, tranquil, quiet
樂
lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music
于
yú · in, on, at; go to; surname
忧
yōu · sad, grieved; grief, melancholy
乐
lè · happy, glad; enjoyable; music
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Entries containing 生於憂患，死於安樂 ↗Words written with 生 ↗Words written with 於 ↗Words written with 憂 ↗Words written with 患 ↗Words written with 死 ↗Words written with 安 ↗Words written with 樂 ↗Words written with 于 ↗Words written with 忧 ↗Words written with 乐 ↗

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Compare dictionary sources 1 Cantonese reading

sang1 jyu1 jau1 waan6, sei2 jyu1 on1 lok6

Pleco · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Word reading; meanings not aligned.

生於憂患，死於安樂 · sheng1 yu2 you1 huan4 , si3 yu2 an1 le4
CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG · edition 2026-10-13 · source line 74,443
Original dictionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source & transformation details
Exact source record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/