Chinese word

地狱

Pronunciation

Pinyindì yù

Meaning

  • nounhell

Example

他每天上班简直是地狱。tā měi tiān shàng bān jiǎn zhí shì dì yù

For him, going to work every day is practically hell.

Illustration for 地狱 (hell)

More examples

战场的景象像地狱一样。zhàn chǎng de jǐng xiàng xiàng dì yù yí yàng

The scene on the battlefield was like hell.

Core concept

A place of relentless suffering from which escape appears impossible, used literally for hell and figuratively for extreme misery.

Common phrases

  • 像地狱一样xiàng dì yù yí yàng

    like hell

  • 下地狱xià dì yù

    go to hell

  • 地狱般的生活dì yù bān de shēng huó

    hellish life

Similar words

地府dì fǔ: The realm of the dead where their actions in life are judged and their affairs are managed.
阴间yīn jiān: The general unseen realm believed to exist after death.
黄泉huáng quán: A traditional name for the world believed to follow death.
炼狱liàn yù: A place or state where people suffer after death to be cleansed of their sins.

Definition in Chinese

死后或宗教传说中惩罚罪人的痛苦之地，也比喻极度痛苦或难以忍受的处境。sǐ hòu huò zōng jiào chuán shuō zhōng chéng fá zuì rén de tòng kǔ zhī dì yě bǐ yù jí dù tòng kǔ huò nán yí rěn shòu de chǔ jìng

Word origin

Chinese forms the word from 地 (dì, "place") and 狱 (yù, "prison"), a compact image of punishment as confinement that became linked to Buddhist teachings about the afterlife.

Usage tips

  • For conversational Chinese, the metaphorical use is especially useful for describing work, traffic, or other experiences that feel far beyond merely difficult.

Opposites

Word lists with this word