僵持不下
jiāng chí bù xià
deadlocked; neither side will give way
Character by character
僵jiāng
stiff
stiff
持chí
hold
hold
不bù
not
not
下xià
down
down
Example
买卖双方在价格上僵持不下，谈了三个小时还没结果。
Buyer and seller were deadlocked over the price, and after three hours of talks there was still no result.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
The subject is the two sides (双方、两队) or the contest itself (谈判、比赛); common frames are 在…上僵持不下 and 僵持不下之际／的时候. It describes a stand-off, not a quarrel: the noun for the situation is 僵局.
Learn this in Lesson 191 · HSK 7–9: 光伏反倾销案 (The solar panel dumping case)
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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