日薄西山

Chinese

day; sun; date
day; sun; date; day of the month; Japan (abbrev.)
 
 to approach west mountain; hill
trad. (日薄西山) 日 薄 西 山
simp. #(日薄西山) 日 薄 西 山
Literally: “sun approaches the western mountains”.

Etymology

From Li Mi's 陳情表:

但以劉日薄西山，氣息奄奄，人命危淺，朝不慮夕。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
但以刘日薄西山，气息奄奄，人命危浅，朝不虑夕。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: 3rd century, Li Mi (李密), 陳情表
Dàn yǐ Liú rìbóxīshān, qìxī yǎnyǎn, rénmìng wēiqiǎn, cháobùlǜxī. [Pinyin]
(please add an English translation of this usage example)

Pronunciation

Idiom

日薄西山

  1. (of an old person) to be close to death
  2. (of something) to be declining and near its end

Synonyms

  • (Hokkien) 風頭蠟燭／风头蜡烛
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