行將就木

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Chinese

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to be about to; to be on the verge of; to be just going to
to be about to; to be on the verge of; to be just going to; to be on the point of
 
to enter the coffin; to die
trad. (行將就木) 行將 就木
simp. (行将就木) 行将 就木
Literally: “to enter the coffin soon”.

Etymology

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季隗:「二十五後嫁。」:「二十五如是就木。」 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
季隗:「二十五后嫁。」:「二十五如是就木。」 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4th century BCE
Jiāng shì Qí, wèi Jìwěi yuē: “Dài wǒ èrshíwǔ nián, bù lái ér hòujià.” Duì yuē: “Wǒ èrshíwǔ nián yǐ, yòu rúshì ér jià, zé jiùmù yān. Qǐng dài zǐ.” [Pinyin]
Before Chong'er (later Duke Wen of Jin) left for Qi, he said to Jikui (his wife) "Please wait me for 25 years. If I don't come back, you can marry another man." Jikui replied, "I'm now 25 years old now. If it's like that (after 25 years), I'll be entering the coffin very soon when I marry another man. Please let me wait for you."

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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行將就木

  1. to be close to death; to approach death