要命

• Pinyin: yào mìng
• Hanzi breakdown: 要 = to demand/take; 命 = 人 (person) + 令 (command — life as heaven-given mandate); together: 'to take one's life' — used hyperbolically

Meaning

Extremely; terribly; to an unbearable degree. Colloquially used as an intensifier for pain, difficulty, or annoyance. Literally 'to take one's life'.

Most commonly used as a predicate intensifier: 累得要命 (exhausted to death), 痛得要命 (in terrible pain), 难得要命 (insanely difficult). Can also describe something as life-threatening in a more literal sense. Informal, spoken register; sounds hyperbolic in formal writing.

Examples

1. 连续三天三夜赶项目，他累得要命，一坐上回家的地铁就睡着了。 After grinding on the project for three days and three nights straight, he was exhausted; the moment he got on the subway home, he fell asleep.
2. 今天的考试难得要命，好几道大题我都不知道从哪里下手，估计成绩不会好看。 Today’s exam was insanely hard. I had no idea where to start on several of the big questions, so my score probably won’t look good.
3. 这段时间压力大得要命，他开始失眠，整个人看上去憔悴了很多。 The pressure has been brutal lately. He’s started having insomnia, and he looks a lot more worn out.

Usage Guide

Context: spoken, emotion, intensifier, complaint

Tone: negative

Do Say

• 这道数学题难得要命，我对着它坐了两个小时，草稿纸用了一大叠，最终还是没能推导出正确答案，只能等明天去问老师了。(This maths problem was insanely difficult; I sat staring at it for two hours, used up a thick stack of scratch paper, and still couldn't work out the correct answer — I'll just have to ask the teacher tomorrow.)
• 搬家那天她一个人抗了十几箱书上楼，累得要命，第二天连手都抬不起来，在床上躺了整整一天才缓过劲来。(On moving day she carried over a dozen boxes of books upstairs by herself, exhausted to the point of collapse; the next day she couldn't even lift her arms, and it took a full day of lying in bed before she recovered her strength.)

Don't Say

• 在报告中写道累得要命 — 要命 is casual and colloquial; in formal written reports say 工作强度极高 or 身心俱疲; 要命 in formal writing undermines the professional register

Origin & History

要 (to demand/take) + 命 (life — 人 person + 令 command; life as that which is commanded by heaven); literally 'to demand one's life' — hyperbolic intensifier

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal