颠沛流离 (diān pèi liú lí) — to wander about in desperate plight, drifting from place to place; vagrant and destitute
Definition
A literary chengyu for 'to be uprooted and destitute' — wandering from place to place in hardship, often from war or disaster. Used in writing, not casual speech.
idiom
to wander about in desperate plightdrifting from place to placevagrant and destitute
Examples
- 颠沛流离，。Zhàn zhēng ràng wú shù jiā tíng diān pèi liú lí, shī qù jiā yuán.War caused countless families to wander in desperate plight, losing their homes.
- 颠沛流离，。Tā nián qīng shí jīng lì le yí duàn diān pèi liú lí de shēng huó, hòu lái cái ān dìng xià lái.He experienced a period of vagrant life when young, and only later settled down.
- 颠沛流离，。Xǔ duō nàn mín zhì jīn réng guò zhe diān pèi liú lí de rì zi, jí xū guó jì shè huì yuán zhù.Many refugees still live a life of wandering and hardship, urgently needing help from the international community.
Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.