兵临城下

bīng lín chéng xià

the enemy is at the gates; a crisis is at hand

Character by character

兵bīng
troops

临lín
reach

城chéng
city wall

下xià
below

离交稿只剩一天了，真是兵临城下，他只好通宵赶稿。

With only a day to go before the deadline, the enemy was at the gates, and he had to write through the night.

Tone: neutral.

Literal in war stories (大军兵临城下); in daily life it means a deadline or rival is right on top of you. Often 已经兵临城下 or 眼看兵临城下.

Learn this in Lesson 204 · HSK 7–9: 雅克萨与尼布楚 (Albazin and Nerchinsk)

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.