要命

yào mìng

HSK 2.0 Level 6 HSK 3.0 Level 7 Verb Uncommon

Definitions

1. to cause sb's death
2. extremely; terribly

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Word relationships

Counterparts

1 item

救命

jiù mìng

to save sb's life

要命与救命意义相反

Related words

2 items

非常

fēi cháng

very; really

作为副词表示程度极高

要死

yào sǐ

extremely

常与之搭配使用

Synonyms

1 item

致命

zhì mìng

fatal

表示导致死亡

Usage notes

Collocations

“要命”作程度补语时，常用于“形容词+得要命”，如“热得要命”。

Common mistakes

注意与“救命”区分：“要命”是“使丧命”或“程度高”，而“救命”是“拯救生命”。

Grammar

Guides that feature 要命

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2 guides

HSK 2.0 Level 5+ HSK 3.0 Level 7–9+ 6 min

X得要命 and X得要死 for “Extremely” in Casual Speech

Put 得要命 or 得要死 after an adjective or feeling verb to exaggerate, like “to death” or “terribly” in English: 累得要命, 热得要死.

Reading: yào mìng Open guide

HSK 2.0 Level 5+ HSK 3.0 Level 5+ 7 min

Advanced Degree Complements

Use degree complements like 得不得了, 得多, and 得要命 without overusing 很.

Reading: yào mìng Open guide

Example Sentences

1 shown

今天热得要命。

It's terribly hot today.

AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 要命

life

(bound form) to demand; to coerce

要

yào

to want; to need; to ask for

要命