旷日持久

曠日持久

kuàngrìchíjiǔ

idiom #56,324

Meanings

1 protracted and drawn-out
2 dragging on for a long time and wasting time
3 long-drawn-out

Characters

to hold; to last

Examples

这场官司旷日持久，耗费了双方大量财力。

Zhè chǎng guānsi kuàngrìchíjiǔ, hàofèi le shuāngfāng dàliàng cáilì.

The lawsuit dragged on for ages, draining huge sums from both sides.

两国的边境谈判旷日持久，至今未有结果。

Liǎng guó de biānjìng tánpàn kuàngrìchíjiǔ, zhìjīn wèi yǒu jiéguǒ.

The border negotiations between the two countries have dragged on to this day without results.

旷日持久的战争让百姓苦不堪言。

Kuàngrìchíjiǔ de zhànzhēng ràng bǎixìng kǔbùkānyán.

The prolonged war left the common people suffering beyond words.

Tips

history

From 《战国策·赵策四》: 旷日持久，数岁，令士大夫余子之力，尽于沟垒 — describing how a military campaign stretched on for years and exhausted the soldiers. The classical sense of 旷 is 'to waste' time, not merely 'long'.

usage

Almost always negative — implies not just long but wastefully long. Common in legal, diplomatic, or war contexts. Compare to neutral 长期 (long-term).

Stroke Order

旷 kuàng

日 rì

持 chí

久 jiǔ