no zuo no die

interjection

You won't die if you do not seek death; you will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble.

OriginChinese 不作死就不會死 /不作死就不会死 →
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Meanings

interjection
  1. You won't die if you do not seek death; you will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble.

    Joe was stopped by police near the school zone. No zuo no die.

    2019, Changming Yuan, “Trade Deficit: Chinese Exported into English”, in T. R. Mwanaka, editor, Nationalism: (mis)understanding Donald Trump's Capitalism, Racism, Global Politics, International Trade and Media Wars, volume 2, →ISBN
    3 more examples

    Due to just desert, the offenders' fault is clear: death befalls one only because one commits a heinous crime(s) first.[…]In the Peng Shu and Hu Haolong case (#3), one netizen said, "[The crime was] shocking. No zuo no die."

    2021 November 15, Bin Liang, Jianhong Liu, Chinese Netizens' Opinions on Death Sentences: An Empirical Examination, University of Michigan Press, →ISBN, page 73

    He Shishi laughed at the side. "This is what we called No Zuo No Die (stew in one's own juices)."

    2022 December 22, Yao Yao Zhi Xin, Give Me Your Hands and Marry Me 19 Anthology, BEIJING BOOK CO. INC., →ISBN

    He stretched out his hand to support Li Hanyu, who was unconscious in pain, but still pushed it away in disgust. Her hand: "Ugly girl, get out of here!" Jing Hengbo let go of his hand, and with a thud, the guy fell to the ground, and the back of his head hit a stone... "no Zuo no Die." Jing Hengbo Road.^([sic])

    2023 April 12, 天下归元, 本无心 上（英文版）, 露露, →ISBN

Origin

  1. Chinese不作不死
  2. Chinese不作死就不會死 /不作死就不会死“You will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble”
  3. Englishno zuo no die

Calque of Chinese 不作死就不會死 /不作死就不会死 (bù zuōsǐ jiù bùhuì sǐ, “You will not get into trouble if you do not seek trouble”) or Chinese 不作不死.

More words from Chinese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

no zuo no die. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20zuo%20no%20die

MLA

“no zuo no die.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20zuo%20no%20die. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no zuo no die,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20zuo%20no%20die.

Source: no zuo no die on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.