# 山穷水尽

shān qióng shuǐ jìn

Reach a point with no apparent way forward

## Meaning & wording

**Literally:** Mountains and waters come to an end

**Traditional Chinese:** 山窮水盡

**Register:** Dramatic · literary

[Choices & judgment](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/topics/decisions)

## When to use it

Describe exhausted options or extreme difficulty.

Often precedes a surprising new possibility.

## Understanding the expression

A traveler seems to reach the end of every mountain route and waterway, with no path remaining. The expression describes a situation where resources or options appear exhausted. Modern use concerns debt, plans, careers, and difficult personal choices. It conveys desperation but can also set up a turn toward hope. The word apparent matters: another route may exist even when the person cannot yet see it from their present position.

## Examples

资金用尽，我们几乎山穷水尽。

### Traditional Chinese

資金用盡，我們幾乎山窮水盡。

zī jīn yòng jìn ， wǒ men jī hū shān qióng shuǐ jìn 。

With funds exhausted, we were nearly out of options.

他以为已经山穷水尽。

### Traditional Chinese

他以為已經山窮水盡。

tā yǐ wéi yǐ jīng shān qióng shuǐ jìn 。

He thought there was no way forward.

一通电话让她走出山穷水尽的困境。

### Traditional Chinese

一通電話讓她走出山窮水盡的困境。

yì tōng diàn huà ràng tā zǒu chū shān qióng shuǐ jìn de kùn jìng 。

One call helped her escape an apparently hopeless situation.

别等山穷水尽才求助。

### Traditional Chinese

別等山窮水盡才求助。

bié děng shān qióng shuǐ jìn cái qiú zhù 。

Do not wait until every option is exhausted to seek help.

## Sources & reference checks

Original explanations and examples from Chinese Idioms Almanac. Source-checked October 6, 2026.

- [CC-CEDICT · forms & pronunciation](https://www.mdbg.net/chinese/dictionary?page=worddict&wdqb=%E5%B1%B1%E7%AA%AE%E6%B0%B4%E7%9B%A1)

- [Ministry of Education · 成語典](https://dict.idioms.moe.edu.tw/idiomView.jsp?ID=220&webMd=1&la=0)

## Keep exploring

- [上下其手 shàng xià qí shǒu Manipulate a process dishonestly ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/shang-xia-qi-shou)

- [舍本逐末 shě běn zhú mò Neglect the essential to pursue the minor ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/she-ben-zhu-mo)

- [深思熟虑 shēn sī shú lǜ Consider something thoroughly ](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/shen-si-shu-lv)

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