死活

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 死活(しかつ) brings together death and life and can also refer to whether something survives or continues to exist.
• Basic usage: It appears in 死活問題 for a matter crucial to survival, or in discussion of whether a shop can stay in business.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• More at stake than 重要
  • 重要(じゅうよう) broadly evaluates something as important. 店の死活 goes beyond general importance to focus on whether the shop can continue to exist.