旷日持久
kuàng rì chí jiǔ
long-drawn-out; protracted
Character by character
旷kuàng
waste
waste
日rì
days
days
持chí
last
last
久jiǔ
long
long
Example
这场旷日持久的官司打了整整八年，双方都精疲力尽。
This long-drawn-out lawsuit went on for eight full years and left both sides exhausted.
Tone: neutral.
Usage and origin
From the Strategies of the Warring States (《战国策·赵策四》), where 旷 means to waste: wasting days and dragging on. Used of wars, negotiations, lawsuits and disputes (旷日持久的谈判), usually with a sense of weariness. Formal and mainly written.
Learn this in Lesson 129 · HSK 7–9: 老小区加装电梯 (Putting lifts into old blocks)
A dialogue, a reading, word cards with audio and a drill that uses it, in Learn Chinese with Bao. This lesson is free.
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