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生灵涂炭

shēng líng tú tàndictionary entry
DEFINITION CC-CEDICT
people are in a terrible situation (idiom)
Sources & editorial notes

Reference definitions: CC-CEDICT contributors and MDBG, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source release 2026-10-27T01:55:52Z. Imported 2026-10-27. Definition wording and meaning order are retained. Recognized pronunciation references are displayed with tone marks; the original source record is available below.

Source record: cd-a23ae9bd4802206f. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

生靈塗炭 生灵涂炭 [sheng1 ling2 tu2 tan4] /people are in a terrible situation (idiom)/

Reference definitions and teaching material have separate provenance.

Reference information

The definitions above are from CC-CEDICT. Examples and usage notes are available on selected entries.

Character information

View the individual characters. Their meanings do not necessarily explain the meaning of the whole word.

Other forms in these source records: 生靈塗炭

  • 生
    shēng

    to grow / to give birth / to produce / to be born / to arise / to occur / to light (a fire) / to live / to be alive / life / raw / uncooked / unprocessed / unfamiliar / strange / (bound form) student / person engaged in a field / (bound form) male role in traditional opera / (bound form) life / lifetime / (bound form) means of livelihood / (bound form) very / intensely (as in 生疼[shēng téng]) / (bound form) in a forced manner (as in 生拉硬拽[shēng lā yìng zhuài])

  • 灵
    líng

    quick / alert / efficacious / effective / to come true / spirit / departed soul / coffin

  • 涂
    tú

    to apply (paint etc) / to smear / to daub / to blot out / to scribble / to scrawl / (literary) mud / street

    Tú

    surname Tu

  • 炭
    tàn

    wood charcoal / coal

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.