📖 Meaning
Literally not a single grain is harvested. It describes a total crop failure, typically caused by drought, flood, or other disasters. Used to emphasize the severity of an agricultural disaster.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no specific classical literary origin but is a modern descriptive compound. The phrase combines 颗粒 (each individual grain) with 无收 (no harvest), forming a vivid image of complete agricultural failure. It gained widespread use in the context of reporting on famines and natural disasters in modern Chinese. The expression reflects the agrarian foundation of Chinese society, where crop failure meant existential threat.
💡 Example Usage
去年大旱，庄稼颗粒无收，农民们苦不堪言。
Last year's severe drought caused total crop failure, leaving the farmers in bitter hardship.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 颗粒无收
- Pinyin: kē lì wú shōu
- Literal Translation: grain, grain, no, harvest
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4