"Dire" • Chinese-English Dictionary
| 吃紧 | chī jǐn | in short supply / dire / tense / critical / hard-pressed / important |   |
| 落魄 | luò pò | down and out / in dire straits / unrestrained / unconventional / also pr. [luo4 tuo4] | |
| 地热 | dì rè | geothermal heat | |
| 落难 | luò nàn | to meet with misfortune / to fall into dire straits | |
| 落拓 | luò tuò | down and out / in dire straits / unrestrained / unconventional | |
| 低热 | dī rè | a low fever (up to 38°C) | |
| 倒悬 | dào xuán | lit. to hang upside down / fig. in dire straits | |
| 苦境 | kǔ jìng | grievance / dire straits | |
| 置之死地而后生 | zhì zhī sǐ dì ér hòu shēng | (idiom based on Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1zi3 Bing1fa3]) to deploy one's troops in such a way that there is no possibility of retreat, so that they will fight for their lives and win the battle / to fight desperately when confronted with mortal danger / to find a way to emerge from a dire situation | |
| 三旬九食 | sān xún jiǔ shí | lit. to have only nine meals in thirty days (idiom) / fig. (of a family) on the brink of starvation / in dire straits | |
| 倒悬之急 | dào xuán zhī jí | lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom) / fig. extremely critical situation / dire straits | |
| 倒悬之苦 | dào xuán zhī kǔ | lit. the pain of being hanged upside down (idiom) / fig. extremely critical situation / dire straits | |
| 解民倒悬 | jiě mín dào xuán | lit. to rescue the people from hanging upside down (idiom, from Mencius) / to save the people from dire straits | |
| 涸辙之鲋 | hé zhé zhī fù | lit. a fish in a dried-out rut (idiom) / fig. a person in dire straits | |
| 倒悬之危 | dào xuán zhī wēi | lit. the crisis of being hanged upside down (idiom) / fig. extremely critical situation / dire straits | |
| 落托 | luò tuō | down and out / in dire straits / unrestrained / unconventional | |
| 落泊 | luò bó | down and out / in dire straits / unrestrained / unconventional | |
| 恐狼 | kǒng láng | dire wolf (Canis dirus) | |
| 穷蹙 | qióng cù | hard-up / in dire straits / desperate | |
