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黔驴技穷 (qián lǘ jì qióng) — (idiom) to have exhausted one's limited abilities; to be at one's wit's end

Definition

Literary idiom: 'the Guizhou donkey has exhausted its tricks.' Means someone's limited abilities have run out — at wit's end, out of moves. Stronger and more literary than the everyday phrase 江郎才尽 (talent dried up).

idiom
to have exhausted one's limited abilitiesto be at one's wit's end

Examples

  • 黔驴技穷，。
    Tā nà xiē lǎo bàn fǎ zǎo yǐ qián lǘ jì qióng, zài yě wú fǎ yìng duì xīn wèn tí le.
    His old methods have long since exhausted their limited effectiveness, and he can no longer cope with new problems.
  • 黔驴技穷，。
    Duì fāng gōng sī yǐ jīng qián lǘ jì qióng, zhī kào jiàng jià lái wéi chí.
    The other company has run out of all its tricks and is only surviving by lowering prices.
  • ，黔驴技穷。
    Bié kàn tā yì kāi shǐ shuō dé tóu tóu shì dào, qí shí hěn kuài jiù qián lǘ jì qióng le.
    Don't be fooled by how confidently he spoke at first — he soon exhausted his limited abilities.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

黔驴
黔qiánGuizhou驴lǘdonkey
偏正Modifier + head
技穷
技jìtrick穷qióngexhausted
主谓Subject + predicate

黔驴 is the Guizhou donkey, and 技穷 says its tricks are exhausted.

Characters in this word

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
黑黑hēiblack
Sound part声符shēngfú
今
今jīn黔qián
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

黔 combines 黑, meaning black, with 今 as a sound part.

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 驢; 驴 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎhorse
Sound part声符shēngfú
盧
盧lú驢lǘ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 驢 uses 馬 (horse) to show the meaning and 盧 to give the sound; the simplified 驴 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not original.

Open 驴 →

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
支
支zhī技jì
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

技 pairs 扌 (hand) with 支, which gives the sound. The hand part fits the idea of skill or ability done with the hands.

Open 技 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 窮; 穷 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
穴穴xuécave; nest; confinement
Sound part声符shēngfú
躬
躬gōng窮qióng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In the traditional form 窮, 穴 (cave; nest; confinement) gives the sense and 躬 gives the sound; this is about 窮, not the simplified 穷.

Open 穷 →
Appears in
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