走投无路 (zǒu tóu wú lù)

Character breakdown

• 走 (zǒu) · 7 strokes

  Originally written as 夭, depicting a person swaying their arms (夭) while walking quickly. The foot component 止 was added later.

• 投 (tóu) · 7 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 殳 represents the sound.

• 无 (mó) · 4 strokes

  Pictograph of a person dancing, with ox tails or bird feathers hanging from his arms, to pray for rain. Original form of 舞 (dance). The current form is a phonetic loan. The simplified character 无 was…

• 路 (Lù) · 13 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 足 represents the meaning and 各 represents the sound.

Usage

他感到走投无路，不知道该怎么办。

to be at an impasse (idiom); in a tight spot; at the end of one's rope; desperate

tā gǎn dào zǒu tóu wú lù ， bù zhī dào gāi zěn me bàn 。