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彈盡援絕

简弹尽援绝 · 繁彈盡援絕

Mandarin · pinyin dàn jìn yuán jué

out of ammunition and no hope of reinforcements (idiom); in desperate straits

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Characters in this entry

彈: Look up this written character
盡: Look up this written character
援: yuán · aid, assist; lead; cite
絕: Look up this written character
弹: dàn · pellet, bullet, shot, shell
尽: jǐn · exhaust, use up; deplete
绝: jué · to cut, sever, break off, terminate

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4–2–2 · dan4 jin4 yuan2 jue2

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

彈盡援絕 · find source passages ↗ · 弹尽援绝 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 2 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

daan2 zeon6 wun4 zyut6

Cantonese word readings for 彈盡援絕. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

phrase

(idiomatic) to run out of ammunition as reinforcements are also not forthcoming
(figuratively) to be in a desperate situation

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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