360度無死角

The Chinese phrase, 360度無死角 (Pinyin: sānbǎiliùshí dù wú sǐjiǎo), provides an interesting insight into contextual (rather than literal) translation:

In English, we have the expression "from A to Z". However, since Chinese does not use the alphabet in everyday writing (it has pinyin, but Chinese does not use it as a traditional alphabet), the English expression has to go beyond "word-for-word" when translating into Chinese.

When translated word-for-word, 360度無死角 means:

• 360度 = "360 degrees"
• 無 = "without"
• 死 = "gapped" (also means "death")
• 角 = "coverage"

In other words, "360 degrees without [a] gap [in] coverage"

As Chinese traditionally had no Western-style alphabet, the phrase offers a clever way to express the concept of thoroughness or completeness!