穷途末路

窮途末路

qióngtúmòlù

idiom

Meanings

Tā rújīn qióng tú mò lù, zǒu tóu wú lù.

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

Gōngsī zījīn liàn duànliè, yǐ dào le qióng tú mò lù.

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

Dào le qióng tú mò lù, tā cái kāishǐ fǎnsī.

Only at rock bottom did he start to reflect.

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