不得善終

Chinese

		to not get	good end
trad. (不得善終)		不得	善終
simp. (不得善终)		不得	善终

Etymology

From Romance of the Three Kingdoms:

堅指天為誓曰：「吾若果得此寶，私自藏匿，異日不得善終，死於刀箭之下！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, trad.]

坚指天为誓曰：「吾若果得此宝，私自藏匿，异日不得善终，死于刀箭之下！」 [Written Vernacular Chinese, simp.]

From: Romance of the Three Kingdoms, circa 14^th century CE

Jiān zhǐ tiān wèi shì yuē: “Wú ruò guǒ dé cǐ bǎo, sīzì cángnì, yìrì bùdéshànzhōng, sǐ yú dāojiàn zhī xià!” [Pinyin]

(Sun) Jian pointed to the sky to swear an oath that: "If I indeed obtained this treasure (Heirloom Seal of the Realm) yet secretly hid it, in the future I would not have a good end (of life) / not die a good death, but I would die by swords and arrows."

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): bùdéshànzhōng

(Zhuyin): ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄕㄢˋ ㄓㄨㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): bat¹ dak¹ sin⁶ zung¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: bùdéshànzhōng
  - Zhuyin: ㄅㄨˋ ㄉㄜˊ ㄕㄢˋ ㄓㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: bùdéshànjhong
  - Wade–Giles: pu⁴-tê²-shan⁴-chung¹
  - Yale: bù-dé-shàn-jūng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: budershannjong
  - Palladius: будэшаньчжун (budɛšanʹčžun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pu⁵¹ tɤ³⁵ ʂän⁵¹ ʈ͡ʂʊŋ⁵⁵/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: bat¹ dak¹ sin⁶ zung¹
  - Yale: bāt dāk sihn jūng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: bat⁷ dak⁷ sin⁶ dzung¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: bed¹ deg¹ xin⁶ zung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /pɐt̚⁵ tɐk̚⁵ siːn²² t͡sʊŋ⁵⁵/

Verb

不得善終

(literary) to die a miserable death
(literary, figurative) to meet with a tragic end; to be done in; to not have a favorable outcome

Synonyms

不得好死 (bùdéhǎosǐ)

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