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窮困潦倒

简穷困潦倒 · 繁窮困潦倒

Mandarin · pinyin qióng kùn liáo dǎo

(idiom) to live in poverty and despair; down and out; destitute and without hope

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Characters in this entry

窮: Look up this written character
困: kùn · to surround, besiege; to be surrounded; difficult; hexagram ䷮
潦: liáo · to flood; a puddle; without care
倒: dào · fall over; lie down; take turns
穷: qióng · poor, destitute, impoverished

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Mandarin tones

2–4–2–3 · qiong2 kun4 liao2 dao3

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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.

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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) fall on evil days; be penniless and frustrated; crack up under the strain of poverty; in a state of utter poverty; in the grip of poverty; live a life of poverty

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

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