B1 Idiom Neutre

息を吹き返す

iki o fukikaesu

To revive / Come to life

Phrase in 30 Seconds

To recover from a slump or difficult situation and regain energy or success.

  • Means: To breathe again; to recover vitality or momentum.
  • Used in: Business turnarounds, sports comebacks, or personal motivation.
  • Don't confuse: With literal resurrection (生き返る).
📉 (Slump) + 🌬️ (Breath) = 📈 (Recovery)

Explanation at your level:

This phrase means to get better after being very tired or having a bad time. It is like waking up again.
When something like a business or a person is failing, and they start to do well again, we say they are 'breathing again'.
Used to describe a recovery from a state of stagnation or failure. It implies that the subject was 'dead' or inactive and has now regained its energy or momentum.
This idiom functions as a metaphor for revitalization. It is commonly applied to organizational or personal contexts where a significant turnaround has occurred after a period of decline.
An idiomatic expression denoting the restoration of vitality or operational efficacy. It is frequently employed in analytical discourse to characterize the resurgence of entities that were previously considered defunct or non-viable.
Rooted in the somatic metaphor of resuscitation, this phrase serves as a linguistic marker for the transition from a state of entropic decline to one of renewed agency. It is a sophisticated way to frame recovery as an organic, life-affirming process.

Signification

To recover from a difficult situation or appear lively again.

🌍

Contexte culturel

Often used in news to describe economic recovery.

💡

Use with 'thanks to'

Always mention the cause of the recovery.

Signification

To recover from a difficult situation or appear lively again.

💡

Use with 'thanks to'

Always mention the cause of the recovery.

Teste-toi

Fill in the blank with the correct phrase.

不況の後、この街はついに＿＿＿＿。

✓ Correct ! ✗ Pas tout à fait. Rponse correcte : 息を吹き返した

The context is recovery from a recession.

🎉 Score : /1

Questions fréquentes

1 questions

No, that is literal and usually implies a miracle. Use it for abstract concepts.

Expressions liées

🔄

起死回生

synonym

Turning a desperate situation into a success.

Où l'utiliser

💼

Business Meeting

Boss: 今回のプロジェクトは息を吹き返したね。

Employee: はい、チーム全員の努力のおかげです。

formal

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Imagine a balloon that lost all its air, and you blow into it to make it round again.

Visual Association

A wilted flower in a vase that suddenly stands tall after you add fresh water.

Story

The company was bankrupt. Everyone was sad. Then, a new CEO arrived. He gave a speech. Suddenly, the company started working hard again. It had breathed again.

Word Web

復活再生回復息吹き返す再起

Défi

Write three sentences about things in your life that 'breathed again' this year.

In Other Languages

Spanish high

Cobrar nueva vida

Spanish focuses on 'collecting' life, while Japanese focuses on 'blowing' breath.

French high

Reprendre vie

French is more direct; Japanese is more poetic.

German moderate

Wieder aufleben

German is more abstract; Japanese is somatic.

Japanese N/A

息を吹き返す

N/A

Arabic moderate

استعادة الحياة

Arabic is more formal/literary.

Chinese high

起死回生

Chinese is a 4-character idiom; Japanese is a verb phrase.

Korean high

숨을 되살리다

Korean uses 'revive' (되살리다) instead of 'blow back' (吹き返す).

Portuguese high

Ganhar nova vida

Portuguese focuses on 'gaining' rather than 'returning'.

Easily Confused

息を吹き返す vs 生き返る

Literal vs figurative.

Use 息を吹き返す for projects/abstract things, 生き返る for people/animals.

FAQ (1)

No, that is literal and usually implies a miracle. Use it for abstract concepts.

C'tait utile ?

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