寸草不生

cùncǎo-bùshēng

idiom #36,844

Meanings

1 not a blade of grass grows; utterly barren
2 (of disaster) devastated beyond recovery

Characters

Examples

HSK 7-9

战后的这片土地寸草不生。

Zhànhòu de zhè piàn tǔdì cùncǎo-bùshēng.

After the war, this stretch of land was utterly barren.

HSK 7-9

干旱让田地寸草不生。

Gānhàn ràng tiándì cùncǎo-bùshēng.

The drought left the fields so dry not a blade of grass survived.

Tips

history

Immortalized in Guan Hanqing's Yuan-dynasty play 《窦娥冤》 act 4: Dou E's dying vow curses Chuzhou with three years of drought where 寸草不生 - 'not a blade of grass will grow' - to prove her innocence.

Stroke Order

寸 cùn

草 cǎo

不 bù

生 shēng