要死不活 yào sǐ bù huó

DEFINITIONS

  1. half dead
  2. more dead than alive

CHARACTERS

要 yào
HSK 2
necessary, essential; necessity
死 sǐ
HSK 4
die; dead; death
不 bù
HSK 1
no, not; un-; negative prefix
活 huó
HSK 4
live, exist, survive; lively