寸草不生

cùncǎobùshēng

idiom #36,844

Meanings

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

Characters

Examples

战后的这片土地寸草不生。

Zhàn hòu de zhè piàn tǔdì cùncǎobùshēng.

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

干旱让田地寸草不生。

Gānhàn ràng tiándì cùncǎobùshēng.

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