涸辙之鲋 / 涸轍之鮒

hé​zhé​zhī​fù

a person in a desperate situation

Literally "a fish in a dried-out wheel rut"; used to describe someone in dire straits who needs immediate help.

hé​chè​zhī​fù

涸 (literal) → 涸 · hé · to dry up 辙 (literal) → 辙/轍 · zhé · rut 之 (literal) → 之 · zhī · [possessive] 鲋 (literal) → 鲋/鮒 · fù · crucian carp

Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

created sense May 20, 2026, 07:57 PM