惨淡
cǎn dàn
Pinyin

Definition

惨淡
 - 
cǎn dàn
  1. dark
  2. gloomy
  3. dismal
  4. by painstaking effort

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

píng dàn
  1. 1 flat
  2. 2 dull
  3. 3 ordinary
  4. 4 nothing special
dàn dìng
  1. 1 calm and collected
  2. 2 unperturbed
dàn dàn
  1. 1 faint
  2. 2 dim
  3. 3 dull
  4. 4 insipid
  5. 5 unenthusiastic
  6. 6 indifferent
lěng dàn
  1. 1 cold
  2. 2 indifferent
chě dàn
  1. 1 to talk nonsense
àn dàn
  1. 1 dark
  2. 2 dim (light)
  3. 3 dull (color)
  4. 4 drab
  5. 5 (fig.) gloomy
  6. 6 bleak
chōng dàn
  1. 1 to dilute
dàn
  1. 1 insipid
  2. 2 diluted
  3. 3 weak
  4. 4 mild
  5. 5 light in color
  6. 6 tasteless
  7. 7 indifferent
  8. 8 (variant of 氮[dàn]) nitrogen
dàn chū
  1. 1 to fade out (cinema)
  2. 2 to withdraw from (politics, acting etc)
  3. 3 to fade from (memory)
dàn huà
  1. 1 to water down
  2. 2 to play down
  3. 3 to trivialize
  4. 4 to weaken
  5. 5 to become dull with time
  6. 6 to desalinate
  7. 7 desalination
dàn wàng
  1. 1 to be forgotten
  2. 2 to fade from memory
dàn bó
  1. 1 living a simple life
dàn mò
  1. 1 apathetic
  2. 2 indifferent
  3. 3 unsympathetic
dàn rán
  1. 1 tranquil and calm
  2. 2 indifferent
qīng dàn
  1. 1 light (of food, not greasy or strongly flavored)
  2. 2 insipid
  3. 3 slack (sales)
kàn dàn
  1. 1 to regard as unimportant
  2. 2 to be indifferent to (fame, wealth etc)
  3. 3 (of an economy or a market) to slacken
guǎ dàn
  1. 1 insipid
  2. 2 bland
  3. 3 indifferent
xìng lěng dàn
  1. 1 frigidity
tián dàn
  1. 1 quiet and contented
  2. 2 indifferent to fame or gain
cǎn dàn
  1. 1 dark
  2. 2 gloomy
  3. 3 dismal
  4. 4 by painstaking effort

Idioms (8)

君子之交淡如水
jūn zǐ zhī jiāo dàn rú shuǐ
  1. 1 a gentleman's friendship, insipid as water (idiom, from Zhuangzi 莊子|庄子[Zhuāng zǐ])
平淡无奇
píng dàn wú qí
  1. 1 ordinary and mediocre (idiom); nothing to write home about
惨淡经营
cǎn dàn jīng yíng
  1. 1 to manage by painstaking effort (idiom)
淡妆浓抹
dàn zhuāng nóng mǒ
  1. 1 in light or heavy makeup (idiom)
淡泊名利
dàn bó míng lì
  1. 1 not caring about fame and fortune (idiom)
  2. 2 indifferent to worldly rewards
淡泊寡味
dàn bó guǎ wèi
  1. 1 insipid and tasteless (idiom)
淡泊明志
dàn bó míng zhì
  1. 1 living a simple life as one's ideal (idiom)
轻描淡写
qīng miáo dàn xiě
  1. 1 to sketch in light shades
  2. 2 to play down
  3. 3 to deemphasize (idiom)

Sample Sentences

回家变卖典质,父亲还了亏空;又借钱办了丧事。这些日子,家中光景很是惨淡,一半为了丧事,一半为了父亲赋闲。丧事完毕,父亲要到南京谋事,我也要回北京念书,我们便同行。
huíjiā biànmài diǎnzhì ,fùqin huán le kuīkōng ;yòu jièqián bàn le sāngshì 。zhèxiē rìzi ,jiāzhōng guāngjǐng hěn shì cǎndàn ,yībàn wèile sāngshì ,yībàn wèile fùqin fùxián 。sāngshì wánbì ,fùqin yào dào Nánjīng móushì ,wǒ yě yào huí Běijīng niànshū ,wǒmen biàn tóngxíng 。
Once we got home we sold our possessions, so that father was able to pay off the debt. We then had to borrow money to cover the funeral costs. Those were darks days for our family, partly because of the funeral, and partly because of my father's unemployment. After the funeral, my father planned on seeking work in Nanjing and I needed to get back to Beijing for school. We decided to travel back up together.