宁为玉碎，不为瓦全
nìng​wéi​yù​suì​bù​wéi​wǎ​quán

death before dishonor

  1. 宁 寧 nìng adverb
    would rather
    would rather; to prefer; would sooner
  2. 为 為 wéi verbpreposition
    to be
    to be; to become; to act as; to serve as; to take as
  3. 玉碎 yù​suì
    to die in glory
    (literary) to die for a noble cause or to preserve one's honor; to prefer death to dishonor (shortened form of the idiom 宁为玉碎，不为瓦全 nìng​wéi​yù​suì​bù​wéi​wǎ​quán)
  4. ， bù
    non-Chinese
  5. 不 bù adverb
    not
    Negative adverb used before verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs to indicate negation; also used as a bound-form prefix to form terms with opposite meanings
  6. 为 為 wéi verbpreposition
    to be
    to be; to become; to act as; to serve as; to take as
  7. 瓦全 wǎ​quán
    to survive ignobly
    literally an unbroken tile; metaphorically used to describe living on by sacrificing one's integrity or surviving ignobly (often in contrast with 玉碎 yù​suì)