苟延残喘

苟延殘喘

gǒuyán-cánchuǎn

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

HSK 4

那家公司早就该倒闭了，现在只是在苟延残喘。

Nà jiā gōngsī zǎojiù gāi dǎobì le, xiànzài zhǐshì zài gǒuyán-cánchuǎn.

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

HSK 7-9

侵略者的统治已经到了苟延残喘的地步。

Qīnlüèzhě de tǒngzhì yǐjīng dào le gǒuyán-cánchuǎn 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