救 命 稻 草

jiù mìng dào cǎodictionary entry

(one's) last straw to clutch at / one's last hope

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-c9d898d8924b1e88. Source SHA-256: bbc4b27f26bee1a262f4d7939667a040c7857c7fc0200a2fa7a86d3352a09eae.

Original source entry:

救命稻草救命稻草 [jiu4 ming4 dao4 cao3] /(one's) last straw to clutch at; one's last hope/

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.

救
jiù
to save / to assist / to rescue
命
mìng
life / fate / order or command / to assign a name, title etc
稻
dào
paddy / rice (Oryza sativa)
草
cǎo
grass / straw / manuscript / draft (of a document) / careless / rough / CL:棵[kē],撮[zuǒ],株[zhū],根[gēn]
cào
See the full entry for source details.

Reference definitions from CC-CEDICT.