📖 Meaning
Describes a scene of catastrophic defeat with heavy casualties and bodies strewn across the ground. It conveys the grim, bloody aftermath of a total rout where the losing side is utterly destroyed. Used to depict devastating failure in war or conflict.
📜 Origin Story
This idiom has no single attributed literary source. It compounds 死败 (death and defeat) with 涂地 (smeared on the ground), the latter echoing the classical phrase 一败涂地 (total defeat). The expression appears in traditional Chinese military and historical writing to emphasize the deadly, humiliating aftermath of a rout. No specific dynasty or figure is definitively credited as its originator.
💡 Example Usage
敌军在这场战役中死败涂地，再无还手之力。
The enemy army suffered catastrophic defeat with heavy casualties in this battle, losing all ability to fight back.
🏷️ Category
➕ Similar Idioms
➖ Opposite Idioms
🔤 Quick Facts
- Chinese: 死败涂地
- Pinyin: sǐ bài tú dì
- Literal Translation: die, defeat, smeared, ground
- Category: Condition
- Characters: 4