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危機一髪

ききいっぱつ

by a hair's breadth

By Nihongo PathUpdated

Examples

  1. 危機一髪で助かった。

    ききいっぱつでたすかった。

    I was saved by a hair's breadth.

  2. 車が来たが、危機一髪のところで避けられた。

    くるまがきたが、ききいっぱつのところでよけられた。

    A car came at me, but I managed to dodge it by a hair.

  3. 消防士の到着が早く、危機一髪で全員が救出された。

    しょうぼうしのとうちゃくがはやく、ききいっぱつでぜんいんがきゅうしゅつされた。

    The firefighters arrived quickly and everyone was rescued in the nick of time.

Common patterns

危機一髪で助かる
to escape by a hair's breadth
危機一髪のところ
at the very last moment
危機一髪を逃れる
to have a narrow escape

Memory tip

一髪 is a single hair — the width of the margin. Watch the spelling: it is 髪 (hair), not 発. Note too that the danger has already been escaped here, unlike 一触即発 where the explosion has yet to happen.

Kanji in this word

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What does 危機一髪 mean?