鸟之将死，其鸣也哀
niǎo​zhī​jiāng​sǐ​qí​míng​yě'āi

a bird's song is mournful at death's door

  1. 鸟 鳥 niǎo noun
    bird
    bird; feathered vertebrate with wings and a beak
  2. 之 zhī particle
    [nominalizer]
    Used between a subject and a verb to turn the phrase into a noun-like unit.
  3. 将死 將死 jiāng​sǐ
    to be dying
    To be on the verge of death; to be about to die.
  4. ， qí
    non-Chinese
  5. 其 qí pronoun
    [third-person possessive]
    his; her; its; their; refers back to a person or thing mentioned previously
  6. 鸣 鳴 míng verb
    to cry
    to cry, chirp, crow, or sing (referring to birds, animals, or insects)
  7. 也 yě adjective
    [classical particle]
    (literary) particle used at the end of a sentence to indicate a judgment, explanation, or to strengthen an affirmative or interrogative mood; or used mid-sentence after a word or phrase to indicate a pause or emphasize the topic
  8. 哀 āi adjective
    sad
    (bound form) sad; tragic; doleful