三長兩短 sān cháng liǎng duǎn

unexpected misfortune; unexpected accident; sudden death

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency Unknown

Definitions

  1. 1. unexpected misfortune
  2. 2. unexpected accident
  3. 3. sudden death

Characters

Character Meaning
三 sān HSK 1
three; 3; surname San
長 cháng
to grow; to develop; to increase
兩 liǎng
two; both; some
短 duǎn HSK 3
short; brief; to lack