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走投无路 (zǒu tóu wú lù) — to be at an impasse; to have no way out; desperate (situation)

Definition

A four-character idiom for being cornered with no escape — stronger than 束手无策 (helpless to act) and 一筹莫展 (can't find a solution): it focuses on having no way OUT, often after a disaster.

phrase
to be at an impasseto have no way outdesperate (situation)

Examples

  • ，走投无路，。
    Gōng sī pò chǎn hòu, tā zǒu tóu wú lù, zhǐ hǎo xiàng péng you jiè qián.
    After his company went bankrupt, he was at an impasse and had to borrow money from friends.
  • 走投无路，。
    Dí rén bèi bī dé zǒu tóu wú lù, zuì zhōng tóu xiáng le.
    The enemy was driven into a corner with no way out and finally surrendered.
  • 走投无路，。
    zǒu tóu wú lù Zhī xià, tā jué dìng qù guó wài pèng pèng yùn qì.
    With no other options left, he decided to try his luck abroad.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original shape showed a running man, with a foot added later.

Open 走 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
殳
殳shū投tóu
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 扌 shows a hand, and the right part 殳 gives the sound of the character.

Open 投 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 無; 无 is its simplified writing.

For the simplified 无, the story is about 無. 無 drew a person dancing with ox tails held in both hands to pray for rain, then was borrowed for 'have no', so the picture does not explain that meaning.

Open 无 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
足足zú
Sound part声符shēngfú
各
各gè路lù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

路 combines 足, a foot, with 各, which supplies the sound.

Open 路 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Idioms & Set Phrases

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