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一败涂地 (yī bài tú dì) — to suffer a crushing defeat; to be utterly routed

Definition

A chengyu meaning a total, crushing defeat — stronger than 'lose': it implies being completely wiped out with no way to recover. Often used in business, war, or competition contexts.

idiom
to suffer a crushing defeatto be utterly routed

Examples

  • 一败涂地，。
    Zhè chǎng bǐ sài wǒ men shū dé yī bài tú dì, yí gè qiú dōu méi jìn.
    We lost this game so badly that we didn't even score a single goal.
  • ，，一败涂地。
    Zài shāng chǎng shàng, rú guǒ jué cè shī wù, gōng sī kě néng huì yī bài tú dì.
    In business, if decisions go wrong, the company may suffer a crushing defeat.
  • 一败涂地，。
    Tā men de jūn duì yī bài tú dì, zài yě méi yǒu bàn fǎ dǎ zhàng le.
    Their army was utterly routed and no longer had any way to fight.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

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 敗; 败 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
攵Written in full as攴pūstrike
Sound part声符shēngfú
貝
貝bèi敗bài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 敗 has 貝 as the sound component and 攴 (written 攵) meaning strike. The simplified 败 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original components.

Open 败 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú涂tú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

涂 has 氵 on the left, a form of 水 meaning water, and 余 on the right for the sound.

Open 涂 →

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
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesSuccess & Failure

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