JLPT N2Four-character idioms
危機一髪
- Meaning
- 髪の毛一本ほどの差で危険が迫っている状態
- Explanation
- "危機一髪" expresses a touch-and-go state in which danger looms by a margin as slight as a single hair. It is used in scenes such as narrowly escaping an accident or failure by a hair's breadth. c3's "falling into crisis because of a hair" mistakes the cause; a single hair is a metaphor for the closeness of the danger.
Original Japanese explanation
「危機一髪」は、髪の毛一本ほどのわずかな差で危険が迫っている、ぎりぎりの状態を表します。事故や失敗を間一髪で免れた場面などで使います。c3の「髪の毛のために危機に陥る」は原因を取り違えており、髪一本は危険の近さのたとえです。
Quick check
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