摇摇欲坠

yáo yáo yù zhuì

tottering; on the verge of collapse

Character by character

摇yáo
sway

欲yù
about to

坠zhuì
fall

台风过后，这面老墙摇摇欲坠，住在旁边太危险了。

Since the typhoon this old wall has been tottering; it is too dangerous to live beside it.

Tone: negative (criticism).

Literal of buildings, walls and trees; figurative of a firm, a market or a regime close to collapse: 摇摇欲坠的公司. 欲 means “about to”.

Learn this in Lesson 70 · HSK 6: 楼市的转折 (The property market turns)

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