生灵涂炭 shēng líng tú tàn

people are in a terrible situation (idiom)

Word data

HSK Not in HSK
Frequency 88601st word

Definitions

  1. 1. people are in a terrible situation (idiom)

Characters

Character Meaning
生 shēng HSK 1
life; to be born; raw
灵 líng HSK 5
effective; efficacious; spirit
涂 tú HSK 5
to apply (paint etc); to smear; to daub
炭 tàn HSK 5
coal; wood charcoal