生灵涂炭 shēnglíngtútàn plunged into misery Origin Definitions Defs Strokes Stroke Words Sentences Sents 生灵 生靈 shēnglíng the people (literary) the common people; the masses; the populace涂炭 塗炭 tútàn extreme misery (literary) mire and embers; extreme distress or the sufferings of the common people