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氣息奄奄

简气息奄奄 · 繁氣息奄奄

Mandarin · pinyin qì xī yǎn yǎn

to have only a breath of life (idiom)

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Characters in this entry

氣: qì · air, gas, steam, vapor; spirit
息: xī · rest, put stop to, end, cease
奄: yǎn · ere long; remain, tarry; feeble
气: qì · steam, vapor; Kangxi radical 84

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–1–3–3 · qi4 xi1 yan3 yan3

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

氣息奄奄 · find source passages ↗ · 气息奄奄 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

hei3 sik1 jim1 jim1

Cantonese word readings for 氣息奄奄. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(of a person) to be close to death; to breathe one's last breath
(of a matter) to decline and be close to perishing

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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