穷途 (qióng tú) — dead end; hopeless situation; destitution; stra…

Definition

Literary/figurative 'dead end' — a hopeless situation with no way forward, used in writing about people or enterprises at their wits' end.

noun

dead endhopeless situationdestitutionstraitened circumstances

穷途。
Tā jué de zì jǐ yǐ jīng zǒu dào le qióng tú.
He felt he had reached a dead end.
穷途，。
Zài qióng tú zhōng, tā yī rán méi yǒu fàng qì xī wàng.
In the hopeless situation, he still did not give up hope.
，穷途。
Nà ge gōng sī bīn lín pò chǎn, yǐ rù qióng tú mò lù.
That company is on the verge of bankruptcy and has reached a dead end.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

The exhausted 穷 road 途 image gives a dead end or hopeless situation.

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.

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

穴躬窮

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.

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

辶余途

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辶Written in full as辵chuò

Sound part声符shēngfú

余

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

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