烂死蛇

爛死蛇

lànsǐshé

idiom

Meanings

1 a rotten dead snake (fig.)
2 an intractable burden one can't shake off
3 a clinging nuisance

Characters

Examples

这桩官司像烂死蛇一样缠着他，几年都脱不开。

Zhè zhuāng guānsi xiàng lànsǐshé yīyàng chánzhe tā, jǐ nián dōu tuō bu kāi.

The lawsuit clings to him like a rotten dead snake — years on, still can't shake it.

那笔债成了他家的烂死蛇。

Nà bǐ zhài chéngle tā jiā de lànsǐshé.

That debt became a dead weight around his family's neck.

Tips

memory

Picture a rotting snake wound around your leg — dead but still stuck to you, stinking and impossible to throw off. The image captures the inescapable quality of the burden.

Stroke Order

烂 làn

死 sǐ

蛇 shé