苟延残喘

苟延殘喘

gǒuyáncánchuǎn

idiom #22,349

Meanings

1 to struggle on whilst at death's door
2 to eke out a meager existence
3 to hang on by a thread

Characters

barely; reluctantly; carelessly

to prolong; to drag on

broken; remaining; cruel

to gasp; to pant; wheezing

Examples

那家公司早就该倒闭了，现在只是在苟延残喘。

Nà jiā gōngsī zǎo jiù gāi dǎobì le, xiànzài zhǐshì zài gǒuyán cán chuǎn.

That company should have gone bankrupt long ago; it's just barely hanging on now.

侵略者的统治已经到了苟延残喘的地步。

Qīnlüèzhě de tǒngzhì yǐjīng dào le gǒuyán cán chuǎn de dìbù.

The invaders' rule had reached the point of struggling at death's door.

Tips

memory

苟 (barely/reluctantly) + 延 (to drag on) + 残 (remaining/broken) + 喘 (to gasp for breath). Picture someone barely gasping through their last broken breaths.

Stroke Order

苟 gǒu

延 yán

残 cán

喘 chuǎn