濒临 ＋ 名词
to be on the verge of, close to (a disaster or collapse) (written)
Structure
主语 ＋ （一度／已经） ＋ 濒临 ＋ 名词（崩溃／破产／灭绝／决口）
What it means
Written ‘be on the verge of’ a bad end: collapse, bankruptcy, extinction, a dike bursting. In geography it also means ‘to border on’ (濒临东海).
How it is built
Subject + (一度/已经) + 濒临 + two-syllable noun or verb (崩溃、破产、倒闭、灭绝、决口): 这种动物已经濒临灭绝 (the animal is on the verge of extinction).
When to use it
Formal, for news and reports; in speech say 快要…了 or 差点儿. You met it in 3-20 (濒临破产); it is the 濒 of 濒危 (1-10).
Watch out
Only for bad ends, not good outcomes or ordinary events: ✗濒临成功 ✗濒临下雨. No preposition after it: ✓濒临破产, not ✗濒临于破产 in modern writing.
Examples
连日暴雨之后，大堤一度濒临决口。
After days of torrential rain the dike was for a time on the point of bursting.
由于长期被捕杀，这种动物已经濒临灭绝。
After years of hunting, the animal is now on the verge of extinction.
订单越来越少，那家工厂濒临倒闭。
With fewer and fewer orders, the factory is close to going under.
Learn this in Lesson 171 · HSK 7–9: 1998年的洪水 (The floods of 1998)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. The first lessons of every level are free.
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