走投无路

• Pinyin: zǒu tóu wú lù
• Hanzi breakdown: 走 (walk/go); 投 = 扌+ 殳 (throw/turn to); 无 = 无 (no/without); 路 = 足 + 各 (road/path)

Meaning

To have no way out; to be at a dead end; to have exhausted all options. Describes a desperate situation in which there is no remaining course of action.

A four-character idiom conveying extreme desperation. Used in narrative, analysis, and everyday speech to describe individuals or groups trapped with no viable options — financially, legally, or personally.

Examples

1. 走投无路之下，他向昔日的对手低下了头，寻求最后的帮助。 With no way out, he swallowed his pride and asked his former rival for one last favor.
2. 公司资金链断裂，负债累累，创始人感到走投无路，最终选择寻求破产保护。 When the company’s funding dried up and debts piled up, the founder felt trapped with no way out and ultimately sought bankruptcy protection.
3. 移民政策收紧后，部分难民陷入走投无路的困境，引发国际社会广泛关注。 After immigration policies tightened, some refugees found themselves with no way out, drawing widespread international attention.

Usage Guide

Context: narrative, social issues, finance, personal crisis

Tone: empathetic

Do Say

• 面对重重债务，他感到走投无路，最终不得不变卖家产还清欠款。(Faced with mounting debts, he felt he had no way out and ultimately had to sell off his family assets to repay what he owed.)
• 在调查人员的重重压力下，涉案官员已走投无路，只得如实交代。(Under intense pressure from investigators, the implicated official was left with no way out and had to confess truthfully.)

Don't Say

• 走投无路地找吃的 — 走投无路 implies serious desperation, not mild inconvenience; use 找不到 or 没有办法 for trivial situations

Origin & History

走投 (make a move toward) + 无路 (no road) — wherever one turns, there is no path forward

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal