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三長兩短

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Chinese

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three
long; length; forever
long; length; forever; always; constantly; chief; head; elder; to grow; to develop
 
both; two; some
both; two; some; a few; tael
 
lack; short
trad. (三長兩短)
simp. (三长两短)

Etymology

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Extended from 長短 / 长短 (chángduǎn), which already has the meaning of “mishap”. and  / are two arbitrary numbers which can also mean “some” (see 二三 (èrsān) and 三兩 / 三两 (sānliǎng)).

Folk etymology states that the term is a euphemism referring to a coffin, which consists of 3 pieces of long and 2 pieces of short wood excluding the cover.

Pronunciation

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Idiom

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三長兩短

  1. unexpected misfortune; unexpected accident; sudden death

Synonyms

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References

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Entry #144750”, in 重編國語辭典修訂本 [Revised Mandarin Chinese Dictionary] (in Chinese), National Academy for Educational Research (Taiwan), 2021.