穷途末路

窮途末路

qióngtú-mòlù

idiom

Meanings

HSK 6

到了穷途末路，他才开始反思。

Dào le qióngtú-mòlù, tā cái kāishǐ fǎnsī.

Only at rock bottom did he start to reflect.

HSK 7-9

他如今穷途末路，走投无路。

Tā rújīn qióngtú-mòlù, zǒutóu-wúlù.

He's now at the end of his rope, with nowhere to turn.

HSK 7-9

公司资金链断裂，已到了穷途末路。

Gōngsī zījīn liàn duànliè, yǐ dào le qióngtú-mòlù.

With the cash flow broken, the company has reached a dead end.

history

The image of 穷途 ('the road runs out') traces to the 《吴越春秋》 in the Han dynasty. Often paired or confused with 走投无路 ('no road to turn to').

Strong and rather literary; use for genuinely desperate situations - personal ruin, failed enterprises, defeated armies.

穷 qióng

途 tú

末 mò

路 lù