死去活來 sǐ qù huó lái

DEFINITIONS

  1. to hover between life and death (idiom)
  2. to suffer terribly
  3. within an inch of one's life

CHARACTERS

死 sǐ die; dead; death
去 qù go away, leave, depart
活 huó live, exist, survive; lively
來 lái come, coming; return, returning