貧無立錐之地 pín wú lì zhuī zhī dì

DEFINITIONS

  1. not even enough land to stand an awl (idiom); absolutely destitute

CHARACTERS

貧 pín poor, impoverished, needy
無 wú negative, no, not; lack, have no
立 lì stand; let stand; establish, set
錐 zhuī gimlet, awl, drill, auger; bore
之 zhī marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; go to
地 dì earth; soil, ground; region