窮當益堅 qióng dāng yì jiān

DEFINITIONS

  1. poor but ambitious (idiom); hard-pressed but determined
  2. the worse one's position, the harder one must fight back

CHARACTERS

窮 qióng poor, destitute, impoverished
當 dāng bear, accept, undertake; just
益 yì
HSK 5
profit, benefit; advantage
堅 jiān hard, strong, firm; resolute