生老病死 in English sheng1 lao3 bing4 si3 Meaning

Meanings

• literally (word for word) to be born, to grow old, to get sick and to die
• metaphorically the fate of humankind (that is to say mortality)

Pinyin

sheng1 lao3 bing4 si3

Literal

Literal explanation, with pronunciation and meaning of each character.

生sheng1to be born 老lao3prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity 病bing4illness 死si3to die